A 4-year-old girl has died after she was found floating in a backyard pool early Friday morning, leaving neighbors in the El Portal community heartbroken and searching for answers.
Authorities said someone called 911 at around 3:40 a.m. to report the child in distress. A dispatcher could be heard in a radio transmission saying, “The patient is in the pool and drowning.”
Emergency response and hospital transport
Paramedics rushed the girl from the home, located near NW 90th Street and NW 1st Avenue, to Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Chopper 4 video showed the pool with no protective fence around it.
Footage showed the child being taken into the hospital while a paramedic held a woman’s hand.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office is now investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident. Authorities have not said how the child ended up in the pool.
Neighbors express shock and grief
Neighbors said they were devastated by the news and questioned how the child ended up outside so early in the morning.
“It is unfortunate. It is a very sad story,” said next-door neighbor P. Moreau. “To me it is very unusual, especially at 3:40. I still cannot imagine that happening at that time when kids should be sleeping.”
Another neighbor said, “When I saw the yellow tape, my heart dropped. My heart, my stomach is torn.”
“That is very sad. I mean, it’s very sad and for that to happen, then I don’t know,” a third neighbor said. “They are new to the neighborhood. I mean, they have been here a couple of years. I didn’t get the chance to meet them. My heart goes out to them.”
The home remained taped off with yellow crime scene tape as investigators continued their work.
