Olympic skier Bode Miller‘s wife Morgan reportedly realized her infant daughter Emeline Grier Miller was missing a “short amount of time” before a pool accident led to her tragic death.
More details are emerging surrounding the 19-month-old’s tragic passing.
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The Olympic alpine skier and wife Morgan Beck shared the news Monday that their daughter had died, PEOPLE reports, after she drowned in a pool in Coto de Caza, California, over the weekend.
“It happened around 6:30 in the evening on Saturday night,” Orange County Fire Authority Captain Steve Concialdi told the outlet. “They were at a neighbor’s house, talking to the neighbors inside, and somehow the little girl made her way to the backyard pool.”
“She was only missing for just a short amount of time and Mom turned and was looking for her and didn’t see her right next to her,” he added. “Mom went straight to the backyard to where the pool was. The child was in the pool. The mom pulled out the little girl and they started CPR immediately.”
Concialdi confirmed drowning as the cause of death, even though the toddle was only in the water “a very short amount of time,” explaining, “As our guys approached the front door, they just handed the child to our firefighter paramedics” and that his crew wasn’t “on the scene for long” before Emeline was transferred to Mission Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Despite rumors of a party, Cocialdi told PEOPLE only “a couple of people” were at the neighbor’s house when Emeline wandered away, and “nobody was in the backyard” during the incident.
“Unfortunately, there was no isolation or safety gate that separated the house from the pool,” he said. “Kids are drawn to the water. They see their older brothers and sisters playing in the water, they see friends, Mom and Dad are using the water, holding them — most kids don’t have any fear of the water.”
“They see it as playtime and they just want to jump in and swim around and unfortunately, children do drown without a sound,” he added. “There is no yelling or screaming. When a child jumps in the water and that child doesn’t know how to swim, they panic under water. It is extremely tragic.”
“The mom did everything she [could],” he continued. “She went straight to that backyard pool, pulled her out immediately. They knew how to do CPR. They started CPR, our firefighter paramedics arrived quickly and they took her to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo and transported her in grave condition.”
Bode Miller announced the tragic news via his Instagram Monday.
“We are beyond devastated. Our baby girl, Emmy, passed away yesterday. Never in a million years did we think we would experience a pain like this,” Miller wrote. “Her love, her light, her spirit will never be forgotten. Our little girl loved life and lived it to it’s fullest everyday. Our family respectfully requests privacy during this painful time.”
A GoFundMe campaign has been established to help the family with medical bills and memorial services fees during this difficult time.
