A Washington, D.C.-area father has been arrested in Central Florida after deputies say his 20-month-old daughter was found unresponsive in a hot tub at a short-term rental home and later pronounced dead at a hospital. (osceolasheriff.org)
What investigators say happened
According to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, deputies and fire-rescue crews were called to a home on Nice Court in the Kissimmee area shortly after 3:30 a.m. on December 13, 2025, following a report of an “unresponsive child” who appeared to have drowned in a hot tub. (osceolasheriff.org)
Authorities said the child was located unresponsive and rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly after 4:30 a.m. (osceolasheriff.org)
Detectives later determined that the family staying at the home was visiting from Washington, D.C., and that the property was listed as an Airbnb rental at the time. (osceolasheriff.org)
Investigators say the father—identified as Reynard Tyrone Hough, 33—told detectives he got into the hot tub while holding his daughter and fell asleep. He reported waking up to find the child unresponsive while she was still in his arms in the water, according to the sheriff’s office. (osceolasheriff.org)
Charges filed
The sheriff’s office said Hough was arrested and booked into the Osceola County Jail. He faces charges including child neglect causing great bodily harm and aggravated manslaughter of a child. (osceolasheriff.org)
Local reporting citing investigators also states that Hough admitted to drinking alcohol and ingesting narcotics before entering the hot tub with the child. (WESH)
Investigation ongoing
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said the case remains under investigation. (osceolasheriff.org)
In comments carried by local media, an Osceola County Sheriff’s Office captain said the parents were devastated and noted that there was another infant in the home at the time. (WESH)
A safety reminder from experts
Child-safety groups and pediatric experts have long warned that drowning can happen quickly and quietly, even in small bodies of water like hot tubs. The most effective prevention is constant, sober, close supervision—meaning an adult’s full attention on the child at all times around water.
