2 Missing Toddlers Found Dead In Neighbor's Pool

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Two toddlers reported missing by their family in central California were found in their next door neighbor's pool, where they drowned Monday. No foul play is suspected, police said.

The 2-year-old girl and 3-year-old boy were being watched by their great-grandmother when they got out of the house sometime Monday morning. After searching for them for an hour, the family called police, Fresno Police Lt. Joe Gomez said.

The children were in a room with access to the garage, where they likely used an open vehicle door to get out of the house. They walked to the neighbor's house and entered the yard through an open gate, then climbed or squeezed through a 4-foot high wrought iron fence surrounding the pool, Gomez said.

"There were some bikes next to the fence they could have used to climb over it," he said. "It appears to be an extremely unfortunate tragic accident."

Their next door neighbor, Elizabeth Valle, found the kids in her pool after a police officer asked her for permission to search her backyard.

Valle told the Fresno Bee that she screamed and jumped into the pool, as did one of the officers. The boy was floating in the water, and the girl was found at the bottom.

Officers and paramedics tried to revive the children, Valle said. They were rushed to a hospital where they were pronounced dead.

She said this isn't the first time the kids had gotten into her backyard. Around six months ago, she found them unattended in her yard and walked them back to their house.

 
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.