CHICAGO -- The family of an 8-year-old boy wants to know why a five-star hotel did not warn its guests about the possible danger presented by three pipes in a saltwater pool.

In an exclusive on NBC5, Unit 5 reporter Renee Ferguson reported that Brent Midlock (pictured, left) was chasing fish in a saltwater pond at the Hotel Occidental Grand Flamenco resort near Cancun when he suddenly disappeared. He, along with his family, were vacationing in April at the resort. Midlock disappeared April 26.

His mother, Nancy McCoy, initially thought he had been kidnapped.

"How could your 8-year-old, 85-pound son disappear off the face of the earth?" she asked.

Sixteen hours later, unable to sleep, McCoy went for a walk. Near the pool, she said she saw an ambulance.

"I stopped the ambulance and I asked who was in the ambulance," she said. "And they said, 'No comprendo.' "

Two hours later, McCoy found out her son was dead. At 9:15 a.m. the next morning, she said she got official notification from the manager that her son was found dead. McCoy was not told how her son died. She said she didn't find out what happened until her husband arrived and they went walking by the pool.

"We saw them trying to cover up this hole in the sidewalk, which we realized would have been where they had recovered him," said Andrew Midlock, Brent's father. Midlock said Brent had been sucked into one of three pipes measuring 11 inches in diameter. The pipes ran under a sidewalk and took in sea water from a lagoon. The family hired a pool expert.

"No lifeguards, no warning signs, no protective devices over these three 11.5-inch pipes," Midlock said. " It happened so quickly. One second to pull a 4-foot-something child into a pipe. And he was gone."

The family is investigating, and they said they may file a lawsuit.

An attorney for the hotel expressed condolences to the family and said in a statement, "Before the accident, protective measures were in place to keep swimmers away from the drainage system. It is unknown at this time why or how this accident occurred. A thorough investigation is under way."