Girl, 2, drowned in pond on Christmas Day after going missing for ‘matter of minutes’ at family home

A TRAGIC two-year-old girl drowned in a pond on Christmas Day after going missing for a “matter of minutes”, an inquest heard. Isobel Maxwell was happily playing with her toys at home in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, when the tragedy unfolded. Isobel tragically drowned at the family home Credit: GOFUNDME She had gone missing for a ‘matter of minutes’, her mum said Credit: GOFUNDME Doncaster Coroner’s Court heard no one saw the toddler go outside and it was not known which of the three sets of doors Isobel walked out of. Coroner Louise Slater said at some point during the day the family dogs were let into the garden and “it would appear a door was mistakenly left open”. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Isobel’s parents Aaron Maxwell and Tamara Wallace had moved into the house nine months earlier and it was intended to be their “forever home” as they grew their family. The couple said they had been intending 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 round. Tamara told the court Isobel was a healthy child and was known as “busy Izzie” because she was “always on the move – our little adventurer”. She said there were 14 people at the house on Christmas Day and they had finished their dinner at around 2.30pm. Isobel had been going from room to room, opening presents and playing games but accidentally knocked over a wax melt burner in the hallway. Tamara told the court she cleaned it up then went to find the toddler “to tell her it was OK and to be careful”. Most read in The Sun But the mum could not find her daughter in the house so she went out into the garden with Aaron. She said that as they were searching, she “heard Aaron scream and saw him holding Isobel in his arms” Tamara added: “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.” The inquest heard that Tamara, who was pregnant with her second child at the time, started CPR until the ambulance staff arrived and took over just before 5pm. She continued: “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.” Aaron told the court he was using his phone as a torch when he saw Isobel’s dress in the water. He said he jumped in the water to pull his daughter out but explained “everything was a blur“. The dad told how as he followed paramedics into the house, he felt “helpless”. Isobel was rushed to Doncaster Royal Infirmary but was tragically declared dead at 5.55pm. Detective Constable Danielle Duncan-Blakely, of South Yorkshire Police, said an investigation found 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.” The coroner recorded a conclusion of accidental death and offered her “heartfelt condolences for (the family’s) loss, in these most tragic of circumstances.” Paying tribute previously, Tamara told how Isobel was full of “adventure and fire”. The mum added: “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 “Everyone who knows Isobel and us knows how gifted she was and that she lived more in her two years than some children do in a lifetime.” Isobel’s aunt Abigail Maxwell launched a GoFundMe appeal to cover funeral and counselling costs.