Kalama boy, 2, drowns in family swimming pool

KALAMA — The Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office says a 2-year-old boy drowned in his family’s backyard pool in Kalama after his mother put him down for a nap and then fell asleep herself.

The sheriff’s office says Zander Payne was found face down in the pool Wednesday afternoon by his father when the father, 27-year-old Chris Payne, arrived home.

The sheriff’s office said the father pulled the toddler from the water and began CPR. The boy was airlifted to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland, Ore., where he was pronounced dead.

The father is a volunteer firefighter. The mother was identified as 29-year-old Kacy Sacher.

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