Stricken parents outraged that summer camp escapes punishment after son, 3, fell through plastic manhole and into underground water tank where he drowned

The parents of a toddler  who drowned after falling through a plastic manhole cover at summer camp are furious that no-one has been held accountable for his death.

Three year-old Tate Holzmann died on his first day at Smugglers' Notch summer camp in Vermont after plunging through a 25 inch hole.

'If one person, just one person, at Smuggs did their job,' Tate's dad Zach Holtzman told the Boston Globe, 'Tate would be alive.' 

The youngster drowned after he plummeted into a 3,500 gallon water tank underneath the splash pad he was playing on just moments earlier.

The teenage camp counsellors immediately dove into the pitch black waters to rescue him, but were only able to pull him out ten minutes later.

Tate Holzmann died on his first day at Smugglers' Notch summer camp in Vermont after plunging through a 25 inch hole

The youngster was playing on a splash pad when he stepped on the cover which gave way to reveal this hole leading to a 3,500 gallon water tank

Tate died two days later and so far, nobody has really been held accountable for the 2023 death.

An investigation by Vermont State Police determined 'there may exist some liability on the part of the resort' but did not seek any criminal charges.

The Department of Labor issued $31,253 in fines for exposing employees to hazards and failing to train them appropriately.

This was reduced to $21,850 after the resort took steps to rectify the danger including fencing off the area, adding signs and replacing the lid with a heavier cover

A net was also installed so that even without the cover, nobody can fall in. 

Lisa Howe, president of Smugglers' Notch Resort, confirmed no staff were fired as a result of the accident.

'It kills us,' she said. 'It keeps us awake at night. We don't know why. We may never know why. We only know it wasn't.'

She explained staff were not informed about the cover because they were summer employees and the hole was only accessed before and after the season, meaning it was not an area of responsibility.

His parents, Zach and Jen Holzmann, have expressed outrage nobody has been held accountable for his death

The resort was fined $21,850 and took remedial action to try and prevent a similar action happening again

Dan Trottier, a Vermont State Police detective who arrived on the scene an hour after the incident, suggested the incident was a freak accident.

He explained that maintenance workers told him there were no bolts, the lid was designed to snap into place. 

'Even without the screws, if that cover was secured the way it should have been, there's no way that cover should have flipped up,' he said.

The Department of Children and Families sent a field specialist four days after the accident and stated that 'findings were discussed' but 'no violations were cited'.

They determined that Tate was under adequate supervision, pointing out that a rescue operation was launched within seconds of him falling through.

However, Holzmann and his wife Jen were unsatisfied with the brevity of the DCF report and have since got in contact pointing out several potential violations.

They highlighted the 2016 death of Parker Berry, 3, who drowned in a stream after wandering off at day care.

In that case, DCF suspended the facility's care license almost immediately.

No criminal charges have been filed and no employees were fired in the aftermath

However in Tate's case, supervision was deemed to be adequate with officials pointing to the instant rescue effort that was launched after he fell.

DCF has now pledged to reinvestigate the incident with input from the Holzmanns. 

But it is of little solace to the grieving parents who are still searching for answers.

'The grief blanket. Some days it's really heavy,' Holzmann said.

He still recalls his parting words as he dropped his son off at camp on that fateful day.

'I saw the camp director and asked her to take care of my boy on his first day,' he said.

'While nothing can bring Tate back, his family is hopeful that Smugglers' Notch will accept responsibility for its role in their son's death and work with them cooperatively to resolve their claims,' Jennifer Denker, Holtzmans' lawyer, said,

'Tate's parents are committed to ensuring that no other family ever has to go through what they have.'