Missing 5 Year Old Ralph Knowles & His 7 Year Old Sister Sharon Knowles Found Dead, Drown in Neighbor’s Pool

Terrible and tragic news out of Long Island, New York …

5 year old Ralph Knowles and his 7 year old sister Sharon Knowles disappeared from their home in Central Islip, NY home Sunday afternoon, April 14. Their mother, Tia Knowles, called 911 to report her two children missing at approximately 3:30 pm. While searching for the two children,  a police officer spotted a shoe floating in a next door neighbor’s pool. Subsequently, officers discovered the unconscious fully clothed bodies of Ralph and Sharon Knowles in the pool. They were rushed to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore where efforts to resuscitate them failed and they were both pronounced dead.

While searching the neighborhood in 50-degree temperatures, a police officer spotted a shoe floating in a next-door neighbor’s aboveground pool, which was uncovered and contained blackish water, Fandrey said.   Officers jumped into the 4-foot-deep pool and discovered the unconscious bodies of Ralph Knowles and Sharon Knowles. The brother and sister, who were fully clothed, were taken to Southside Hospital, where efforts to resuscitate them failed, Fandrey said.

He said the pool’s owner had been cited by the town for improper fencing.

CBS Local News – Children, Ages 5 And 7, Drown In L.I. Pool

The officer who saw the shoe was sure a horrifying reality lay at the bottom of the pool, police said.

“The officers tell us the officers that saw the shoe, that as soon as he saw the shoe, he had a sickening feeling that the children may be in that pool, so he jumped into the pool. And the pool was not covered in any way, and the water was just black. He couldn’t search. He had to search by feel,” Fandrey told WCBS 880.

Indeed, Ralph and Sharon were found lifeless, submerged in a backyard pool at a neighbor’s home at 112 Half Mile Rd. in Central Islip, police said. Two officers pulled the lifeless bodies — first Sharon, then Ralph, to the surface.

A truly tragic situation.