A 10-year-old autistic boy died Sunday afternoon after wandering away from a Cabarrus County residential care center for the disabled.

Administrators at Howell Care Center-Clear Creek facility said the boy walked away from the Cabarrus County building just before breakfast Sunday morning. He was later found in a creek nearby the RHA Howell Care Center along the Mecklenburg-Cabarrus county line. He was immediately administered CPR by the facility’s staff and then rushed to the local hospital where he died, local media press reported. His name has not been released yet.

Howell Care Center president Sandra Hedrick named the accident “tragic” and unique, as it was the first time when something like this happened. She said that no one had noticed on the surveillance cameras when the boy was leaving the facility. She also added that there would be an internal review so they would know if they had to make changes, so that an incident like this would never happen again.

“We are very deeply saddened,” she was quoted by local media sources.

“An internal review is underway, and we are making all the required notifications of this tragic event. Our efforts are also focused on supporting this individual’s family, and the staff at the center who have become his second family,” Hedrick said.

The Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office is also investigating the case. A medical examiner will determine the cause of the boy’s death.

RHA Howell operates facilities for the developmentally disabled across North Carolina. According to Hedrick and Chief Operating Officer Missy Jones, the Howell Center is not a “locked” facility. Residents are free to come and go as they please. The boy had lived there since July.