Glenview PD Completes Drowning Investigation; Releases Report, New Details

Before he was , Vicente Cardenas was missing from his Wesley Child Care camp group, according to a recently released Glenview police report of the investigation into his drowning. 

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When news of the 4-year-old Glenview boy’s death while on a camp field trip broke in mid June, the community was in shock.

, searching for details and explanations.

released the 85-page report (see attached PDF to read the report in its entirety) to Patch Thursday afternoon, following a Freedom of Information Act request.

According to the police report completed Aug. 28, Cardenas was with at the Glenview Park District pool when he went missing from a group of 19 campers (ages 4-5) and eight counselors. He was found unresponsive in the pool’s deep end shortly after.

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The report includes interviews with Wesley staff, campers, lifeguards and Park District officials that pieced together the events leading up to Vicente’s death. 

According to the report, Vicente was last seen by a Wesley teacher at the bottom of a pool slide. When she turned to answer a question from another child, she lost track of Vicente, the woman said in interview with the report. 

Witnesses told police the facility was crowded;  officials confirmed 750 swimmers were at the pool that day. 

Wesley teachers also explained in police interviews they were not responsible for watching specific children, but the group as a whole.

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Less than five minutes later, and after a group of five campers called for help, lifeguards pulled an unresponsive Vicente from the pool, the report explained. According to the medical examiner, it was undeterminable how long the 4-year-old had been submerged.

CPR was administered and a still lifeless Vicente was taken to Glenbrook Hospital where he died just before 3:49 p.m. Police closed the case without filing criminal charges; a medical examiner’s report ruled the death accidental.

As part of the investigation, police served a grand jury subpoena to the Glenview Park District. They requested any documents related to the case, including internal investigation reports and statements from pool employees.

The Park District’s attorney Ed Dutton has since refused the request citing attorney-client privilege, the report explained.

The Park District has not made any further statements since the report was released. Wesley sent out a letter to parents Thursday afternoon (see attached PDF to read the full letter) expressing the child care center's sympathies. 

DCFS is conducting its own investigation, which has not yet been completed. 

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