The boy was found by his parents at their home on the 7200 block of Princeton Avenue in La Mesa just before 9 a.m. Tuesday, according to police. They immediately began CPR, but the boy was later declared dead at a hospital.
Authorities said the death appeared to be an accidental drowning.
Officials identified the boy to the San Diego Union-Tribune as Jack Ferguson.
Police said the boy’s parents put him to bed in his room on Monday night, but he apparently snuck out and left the home through a sliding glass door. The child’s parents said that they thought they had locked the door before going to sleep. It was unclear how the door was opened.
La Mesa police Lt. Chad Bell told KNSD that similar accidents are "100 percent avoidable."
"It is very important that if you have a pool with toddlers, to secure your house before you go to bed at night and to ensure to have that fence around the pool," Bell told the news station.
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