A North Vancouver toddler who died in a backyard pool this week was under a nannys care at the time of the accident, according to the boys family.
The 18-month-old was found submerged in the pool on Fairway Place in Deep Cove April 23. He died later in hospital despite efforts to revive him. A police statement issued later that day omitted certain key details, according to the family, and on Wednesday the childs aunt sent a note to media filling in some of those gaps.
At the time of the accident, the boys parents, Alia and Andy Chryssolor, were at work, having left their one-, three- and six-year-old children with a nanny. The caregiver told the children to play outside while she prepared dinner, said the family, and some time later, the older siblings noticed the toddler was missing.
They informed the nanny, who looked briefly for the boy, but no one appears to have called the police until the six-year-old flagged down a cyclist outside the home and asked for help. The cyclist called 9-1-1.
A police canine unit arrived a few minutes later. After a brief conversation with the nanny, the officer searched the property and soon tracked the boy to the pool. The tot had somehow made his way past the fence that surrounded the water and slipped under the cover, according to police.
The officer jumped in, pulled the unresponsive boy out of the water and performed CPR until paramedics arrived.
After many heroic efforts by the doctors, he could not be revived, wrote Stephanie Swenson, the boys aunt. Alia and Andy Chryssolor arrived at the hospital and were able to say goodbye to their son.
The family expressed its gratitude to the emergency workers who tried to save the boy and to the community for its support.
They are grieving tremendously for the loss of this special, bright, and wonderful child, wrote Swenson. He was a bright light and brought joy to every room he entered. He will be dearly missed.
Speaking by phone, Swenson said she issued the statement out of concern that previous media reports might lead the community to make false assumptions about the incident, and especially about the parents role in it.
The B.C. Coroners Service is investigating. Police are not treating the death as a criminal matter.
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