A toddler drowned in her garden pond on Christmas Day after going missing for just five minutes.
Two-year-old Isobel Abigail Maxwell had been celebrating the occasion with her extended family at her parents’ home in Doncaster when she got into the garden.
An inquest at Doncaster Coroners Court heard that no one heard her go outside, and it was also not known which of the three sets of doors she had used to exit the house.
The family’s dogs were let out into the garden at some point during the day, and “it would appear a door was mistakenly left open”, coroner Louise Slater said.
Isobel and her parents, Aaron Maxwell and Tamara Wallace, had moved into the home nine months prior.
It was intended to be their “forever home” as their family grew, the inquest heard.
Mr Maxwell and Ms Wallace had intended to have the pond filled in during the summer and had put a temporary fence around it, but this did not go all the way around, the inquest heard.
open image in galleryIn a statement read to the court, Ms Wallace – who did not attend the inquest in person – said that Isobel was a healthy child.
She was known as “busy Izzie” because she was “always on the move – our little adventurer”.
Ms Wallace said that there were 14 people at the house on Christmas Day and they had finished eating around 2.30pm.
Isobel was going from room to room, opening presents and playing games.
Ms Wallace said at one point Isobel knocked over a wax melt burner in the hallway, and when she finished cleaning it up, she went to find her “to tell her it was OK and to be careful”.
When she could not find her daughter inside, she went into the garden, followed by Mr Maxwell.
Then she heard her partner scream and “saw him holding Isobel in his arms”, Ms Wallace’s statement said.
“I dropped to my knees.
“I’ve no idea which door Isobel managed to get out of. No-one saw Isobel leave.
“It was a matter of five minutes she was missing.”
open image in galleryThe inquest heard that Ms Wallace, who was pregnant with her second child at the time, started CPR until the ambulance staff arrived and took over just before 5pm.
Her statement said: “Isobel had never shown any interest in the pond before. Whenever we were in the garden someone was with her.
“I just can’t believe this has happened.”
Mr Maxwell’s statement described how he took his phone to use as a torch because the bottom of the garden was dark.
He said that he saw Isobel’s dress and jumped into the pond to pull her out.
“I can’t remember if she was facing up or down, everything was a blur. I was in a state of shock,” Mr Maxwell said.
He described leaving the house to try to find a defibrillator when he saw the paramedics arrive.
“I followed the paramedics into the house. I felt so helpless, I didn’t know what to do,” Mr Maxwell said.
Efforts to resuscitate the two-year-old were unsuccessful and she was declared dead at Doncaster Royal Infirmary at 5.55pm.
Detective Constable Danielle Duncan-Blakely, of South Yorkshire Police, said an investigation found that there were no suspicious circumstances.
She told the hearing: “It’s sad, they have to carry on their lives knowing they’ve lost their little girl on that day.
“They’ve had another baby, I just hope they can bring some joy from that.”
Ms Slater said that Isobel’s parents had chosen not to attend the inquest “due to the distressing circumstances”.
Recording a conclusion of accidental death, she said: “I would like to wish my most heartfelt condolences for [the family’s] loss, in these most tragic of circumstances.”