Newalla Couple Has Warning For Parents After 3-Year-Old Son Drowns In Pond

A 3- year-old boy drowned in a small pond behind his home in Newalla last week. Now one day after his visitation his parents have a message for other parents.

Last Saturday 3-year-old Braxton McHorse was playing by the pond when he went in and drowned. His parents want to remind other parents to keep a close eye on their children.

“You were always running after him. He was always so happy and full of life,” said Braxton’s mother Chelsie McHorse.

Last Saturday, while Braxton’s dad was working on the kids go cart, Braxton wandered off. He stripped off his underwear and went into the pond. His dad was only distracted for a minute or two, but that’s all it took.

“We went down and started working on his go cart and he was right there. Just minutes. I mean it wasn’t nothing, he was right there,” Mikel McHorse said.

Family found Braxton’s body in the pond. 

“I seen his little body laying there and everybody working so hard to try to save him and I remember somebody tried to push me away and say you shouldn’t see this, and I said that’s my baby. That is my baby,” Chelsie said. “I held his hand and I prayed. I prayed so hard. I prayed to my brother in heaven and I prayed to God. Just please bring my baby back.”

The ambulance arrived but it was already too late. 

“All I could do is sit there and hold my son’s foot. Because that’s the only thing I could hold,” Chelsie said.

Braxton’s funeral is next week. But as the McHorse’s deal with their grief, they want to remind other parents to keep an extra close eye on their kids, especially with summer coming up and especially around water. Sometimes tragedy can take just seconds. 

“Watch your babies. Even when you think that they are safe, there’s a slight chance that they are not. And that’s exactly what happened to us” Chelsie said.

It’s just a nightmare come true, you know,” Mikel added. “It just replays every day. Every day we wake up and it’s still the same nightmare. He’s still gone. He’s not coming back.”

A funeral service will be held at Cornerstone Church in Midwest City Monday, May 18 at 4 p.m. Because Braxton loved motorcycles, his family is asking anyone with a motorcycle to come out for the funeral.