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Boy drowns at Walton Tract
WALTON TRACT - Four-year-old Derrick Beirne drowned while playing in the Cowpasture River on Saturday.
The accident occurred about 6 p.m. at the forest service area known as the Walton Tract off Route 632 and Route 42 in southeast Bath County. Beirne was playing with other children in the water when he disappeared, according to the Virginia State Police.
According to police, the boy was last seen playing with a small inflatable raft among a group of kids. He was not wearing any kind of flotation device. The water was one to two feet deep in the area, said Sgt. Robert Carpentieri, with several drops to three to four feet. The boy was visiting a campsite along the river with his mother.
Carpentieri said campers in the area pulled the boy from the water and attempted to make cell phone calls to 911. After several attempts, a call was placed to a relative who then called the Alleghany County Sheriff's Office in Covington. That office contacted the state police.
Units from the Clifton Forge rescue squad and the Sharon Fire department responded to the scene.
Beirne was transported to Allegheny Regional Hospital where he died after 9 p.m.
State Police Special Agent Alan Brown continues the investigation.
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