Authorities said 13-year-old Na’Sean Kirkland was found Sunday evening in Lake Eulalia after a two-day search near his neighborhood.
MAITLAND, FL — A 13-year-old boy with autism who vanished from his Maitland neighborhood Saturday afternoon was found dead Sunday evening in a nearby lake, ending a large search that drew police boats, sonar teams, aircraft support and scores of neighbors into the area.
Na’Sean Kirkland’s disappearance triggered a Florida Missing Child Alert and an urgent search across several lakes and residential streets in central Maitland. By Monday, officials had said the body recovered in Lake Eulalia was Na’Sean, a nonverbal child whose family said he was often drawn to water. The case left a neighborhood shaken, raised fresh questions about how he reached the lake unnoticed and turned a weekend rescue effort into a death investigation led by local authorities and the medical examiner.
The search began about 1:30 p.m. Saturday after Na’Sean was reported missing from the 100 block of Windglow Trail, according to authorities. Police said he had been with his brother when he disappeared. His brother returned safely a short time later, but officers said he could not explain where Na’Sean had gone. A statewide alert described Na’Sean as 5 feet 5 inches tall and 95 pounds, wearing a black shirt with green writing, gray shorts and no shoes. The alert also said he was nonverbal and attracted to water, details that quickly shaped the search. Officers, sheriff’s deputies and rescue crews focused early efforts near Lake Sybelia, moving through nearby streets, shorelines and backyards as daylight faded. By Sunday morning, the search widened again, with boats, dogs, sonar and air support covering more ground in and around the neighborhood.
Officials said the breakthrough came around 7 p.m. Sunday, when a person helping with the search spotted what appeared to be a body in Lake Eulalia. Robert Sargent, a spokesperson for the City of Maitland, said the body was found about 20 feet offshore in roughly eight feet of water. The lake was only a short distance from the family’s home, though early public attention had centered on Lake Sybelia. Authorities said the clothing and physical description matched Na’Sean, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement later canceled the missing child alert and said the child was deceased. On Monday, local television stations reported that the Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office had positively identified the body as Na’Sean. Investigators had not publicly announced a cause of death by Monday, and police had not said whether there were signs of foul play. For now, one of the central facts of the case is also one of the hardest for the family and the neighborhood: a massive search took place within a short distance of where the child was eventually found.
The case carried a painful context that relatives had described even before the search ended. Na’Sean’s parents told local reporters that both he and his brother are nonverbal and that Na’Sean had wandered away from home and school before. They said earlier incidents often ended with him being found near pools or other bodies of water. That history helps explain why police placed so much attention on the lakes around the Windgrove area and why state officials highlighted his attraction to water in the alert sent across Florida. The search itself grew into a broad, visible operation over the weekend, with the Maitland Police Department joined by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and specialized rescue resources. Neighbors also combed the area on foot, scanning streets, fences, shorelines and yards. In a city marked by closely spaced homes and lakes, the geography added urgency but also difficulty. Several bodies of water sit within a small radius, creating a patchwork of shorelines, residential lots and blind spots that can slow even an intensive search.
By Monday, the investigation had shifted from a missing-person emergency to a death inquiry. Police said the medical examiner would handle formal identification and determine the cause and manner of death. That process typically includes an examination of the body, review of scene details and coordination with investigators about the timeline from the child’s disappearance to the recovery in Lake Eulalia. Authorities had not announced any criminal charges, arrests or evidence of a crime, and there was no public indication Monday that foul play was suspected. Even so, officers still must account for how Na’Sean left the area where he was last seen, how long he may have been in or near the water and whether any witnesses, surveillance footage or physical evidence can fill in the missing hours. Police also had not announced a public briefing schedule beyond the statements released after the body was found. The next major official milestone is expected to be the medical examiner’s ruling on cause and manner of death, which could clarify whether the case remains a tragic accidental drowning or raises additional investigative questions.
In the middle of the official timeline, the human toll was plain. Search crews had worked through the weekend with neighbors watching from sidewalks and lake edges, hoping the operation would end with a rescue. Instead, the search ended in grief close to home. Na’Sean’s parents later thanked the people who helped look for their son and spoke about the loss in emotional interviews with local television stations. Their comments added a deeply personal note to a case already marked by community involvement. Neighbors had joined trained responders in the search, and one of those volunteers ultimately found the body. That detail left a strong impression on local residents Monday, as people retraced where crews had searched and how near the lake was to the family’s home. For many in Maitland, the case was no longer only about the mechanics of a search. It had become a story about a child known to be vulnerable, a family that had feared water from the start and a community left to absorb the outcome after two days of hoping for different news.
As of Monday, authorities had confirmed that the child found in Lake Eulalia was Na’Sean Kirkland, and the investigation remained open pending the medical examiner’s findings. The next key update is expected when officials release the cause and manner of death and any fuller account of the boy’s final movements.
Author note: Last updated March 23, 2026.