Celina police recover missing 8-year-old from pond, no foul play suspected

A pond in Sutton Fields became the center of a desperate search Friday before Celina police recovered the body of 8-year-old MJ Ashmead and said they do not suspect foul play. The case quickly turned a quiet neighborhood in northeast Celina into the focus of police, fire crews and other law enforcement agencies.

Police said Ashmead was reported missing around 9:30 a.m. on May 29 from the Rostherne Drive area and was last seen near his home in the Sutton Fields neighborhood. By late morning, a dive team had zeroed in on a pond near Wilder Avenue and Sandown Drive, where the child was found. FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth reported the body was located there by about 3:21 p.m.

NBC DFW reported that Ashmead had severe developmental disabilities, a detail that underscored the urgency of the search and the vulnerability of the 8-year-old as officials worked through the day. Celina police identified him publicly as a critical missing child while residents watched the response unfold across social media and local breaking-news coverage.

The loss is likely to sharpen attention in Sutton Fields and similar Collin County neighborhoods built around ponds, trails and open space. Sutton Fields is marketed as a new-home community with ponds and walking paths, features that add to the neighborhood’s appeal but also raise familiar questions about access, visibility and barriers around water. In a city where families are arriving quickly, the safety of retention areas and neighborhood ponds is no longer just a planning issue. It is a daily public-safety concern.

Celina’s growth gives that concern added weight. The City of Celina lists its population at 64,726 as of Jan. 1, 2025, while U.S. Census Bureau estimates put the city at 64,427 on July 1, 2025, after a 276.8% increase from the April 1, 2020 census base. In fast-growing subdivisions, where new roads, amenity ponds and walking paths are being added alongside young families, Friday’s tragedy is likely to renew calls for stronger safeguards, clearer sightlines and closer attention to how water features are fenced, signed and monitored.