The investigation into the circumstances of the death of Rudy Rodriguez at Roberts Regional Recreational Area in Oakland last Thursday, May 24, 2007 is continuing.

According to the District's Chief of Police Timothy Anderson, "To date, we have not been able to establish exactly what circumstance led to Rudy being spotted at the bottom of the swimming pool that afternoon." Subsequent to the tragedy, park police detectives have conducted dozens of interviews of Park District staff, School District staff, and students of the Bret Harte Middle School who were present when the emergency occurred.

"If we establish criminal wrongdoing we will certainly take appropriate action. But based upon the totality of information available at this time, this appears to be a tragic accident," states Chief Anderson. "At this point what we know is that Rudy had been seen in or about the pool area in both the morning and afternoon. However, we have been unable to locate an eye-witness to provide us with an accounting of why Rudy ended up in the deep end of the pool or why he became submerged. We also know that throughout the day, students in the pool had been engaging in so-called horseplay and dunking. When found, Rudy was immediately brought to the pool deck by lifeguards and emergency cardio-pulmonary-resuscitation efforts were performed."

But Chief Anderson states that if such horseplay is what led to Rudy's submersion, a first-hand witness has yet to come forward. The chief said investigators believe there may possibly be one or more students in the group that day that could provide valuable insight and may be reluctant to come forward either due to peer pressure or some other reason. Police indicate they have a tip line at 510-690-6521and invite students present at the 8th grade picnic that day to come forward if they believe they have information helpful to detectives.

Detectives have looked into some early reports that Rudy may have been pushed into the pool, but at this point believe that to be speculation by bystanders caught up in the anxiety of the moment. So far, no witnesses have reported any pushing or deliberate actions against Rudy in or about the pool. Furthermore, police are discounting rumors that Rudy was fully clothed as "misinformation." In fact, the first park police officer to arrive on scene just a few minutes after the lifeguards called for an ambulance was Chief Anderson. According to witnesses and rescuers, Rudy had on shorts and two t-shirts when pulled from the pool. Police believe that the wet clothing in possession of Rudy's family that day was provided to them as Rudy's personal belongings, not to imply that is what he was actually wearing at the time of the tragedy.

Detectives plan on speaking with family members and additional students this week. "We hope to find closure for the family, but absent eye-witness information, finding closure may be quite difficult," according to Chief Anderson. The investigation is headed up by Detective Sergeant Tyrone Davis who can be reached at 510-690-6554. Back to top