A two-year-old girl has died after falling in a garden pond moments after going missing during a family gathering on Christmas Day.
The toddler, named Isobel, is said to have wandered into her parents’ garden in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, while the family were playing with their presents on December 25.
The little girl was ‘surrounded’ by family but managed to escape just seconds before they realised she was gone, the child’s aunt said.
The family desperately performed CPR on Isobel before emergency services arrived and she was rushed to hospital, but she tragically passed away.
Isobel’s mother, Tamara Wallace, paid a heartbreaking tribute to her daughter on social media today, describing the toddler as ‘gifted’ and a ‘magic girl’.
‘Everyone who knows Isobel and us knows how gifted she was and that she lived more in her two years than some children did in a life time,’ the mother wrote.
‘We also want people to remember Isobel for the magic girl she was and the adventure and fire she had in her soul and how much light she brought, not for her sad passing.’
She added: ‘We will raise her baby brother the same way and he will know he has a sister and that she is and will continue to be amazing.
Isobel, two, died after falling in a garden pond during a family gathering on Christmas Day
Isobel is pictured with her parents, Tamara and Aaron. Tamara described her daughter as ‘gifted’ and a ‘magic girl’
‘Isobel my sweet sweet girl our hearts burst with love for you, this is never a goodbye as we know you are near, mummy and daddy will see you soon.’
Isobel’s aunt, Abigail Maxwell, was forced to set up a GoFundMe to help the family pay for funeral and counselling costs.
Ms Maxwell recalled the tragic series of events on Christmas Day which led to her niece’s death, explaining the family had been opening presents and playing with toys.
‘It was Christmas, we were celebrating as a family. Our girls, two best friends, were surrounded by everyone playing with their new toys between the living room, kitchen and playroom,’ she wrote.
‘We couldn’t find her for a moment & in that moment, she’s gone in the garden & fell in the pond.’
Ms Maxwell said Isobel’s parents recently bought a new house with a pond in the garden, and were planning to turn it into their dream family home.
‘A pond that was not there through choice but due to a house move, their forever home which they were renovating,’ she wrote.
The family desperately performed CPR on Isobel before emergency services arrived and she was rushed to hospital, but she tragically passed away
‘A pond that had a temporary fence around it, in a garden she would never have accessed by herself. A tragic accident.’
Ms Maxwell added: ‘We did CPR until the ambulances came, she was taken to hospital but sadly couldn’t be saved. My brother & Tamara’s little girl. A very loved granddaughter. Our baby neice. My little girls bestest friend.
‘There are just no words & nobody deserves this, & anyone who knows them, will agree, especially not them.’
The family are also planning to build a ‘memorial fairy garden’ for Isobel. The fundraiser has so far raised more than £15,000 for the family.
The Daily Mail has contacted police and ambulance services for comment.
