LONGWOOD, Fla. — Two toddlers who were pulled out of a retention pond after a call about a drowning Sunday night have died, the Seminole County Sheriff's Office says.

Davielle Sparks, 3, and her brother, 2-year-old David, were found in the pond near Lake Brantley Drive and Wekiva Springs Road.

Crews from the Sheriff's Office and Seminole County Fire transported them to a hospital.

There's no sign of foul play at this time, a Sheriff's Office spokesman said Monday.

The sheriff's office report said the mother reported the two children, who were on the autism spectrum, usually gravitated toward the pond, which was near their home. 

Florida leads the nation in child drowning deaths.

According to data from the Florida Department of Children and Families, 68 children drowned last year; 55 of whom were under the age of 3.

"Unfortunately a title we really don’t want to be holding is the leading state for drownings of children under the age of 5, but we do," said Mindy York, president of Baby Otter Swim School. "There’s so many pools and lakes surrounding us, kids get very curious, water is like a magnet so it attracts them.”

York said it’s heartbreaking to hear about the siblings in Longwood who died after drowning in the retention pond near their home.

“We sit here with tears in our eyes when we hear that you know, another two children have lost their lives," she said.

York said she knows this from a frightening firsthand experience.

“Thirty-five years ago, sitting at a pool with my kids, and I asked my daughter Staci to just sit there for a minute while I attended to what I needed to do, and I turned around and she was gone," York said. "And in a matter of seconds she was laying on the bottom of the pool, just looking up at me. So it happens that fast."

York said she hopes more parents will take the steps to prevent this from ever happening to them.

“We are going to turn Florida into a zero drowning state, it’s that important,” she said.

Here are four important steps York says you can take to protect your child from drowning:

1. Keep a close eye on young kids when you have a pool or live near a body of water.

2. Get your child swimming lessons, even if they’re just a toddler.

3. If you can’t always watch them while you’re at home, put some kind of alarm on the doors so if they open, you will know and you can immediately check on your child.

4. Learn CPR, because like in York’s case, you can use it to save your child's life in case they start to drown.