The body found in a Pine Hills pond over the weekend has been identified as that of an autistic man who was reported missing Saturday.
The Orange County Medical Examiner thinks Kency Synsmir, 18, died of accidental drowning.
The pond is right behind Synsmir's home on Robbins Avenue in Pine Hills. He was last seen Saturday afternoon playing with his 12-year-old sister in the backyard. When she went back inside, their mother noticed Synsmir was gone.
He was autistic, suffered from epilepsy and did not speak.
About 60 law enforcement officers, including divers, dogs, horses and a helicopter, searched for him. Deputies say they searched the pond initially but didn’t find anything until Sunday night, when divers detected something on sonar.
Synsmir was well-liked in the area, according to neighbors.
"It's kind of alarming and makes you feel kind of sad," neighbor Norman Edwards said, "because you know that he's a good kid, doesn't get into trouble and all the neighbors that are close by kind of watch out for him."