Child Drowns In Backyard Pond

An 11-month-old Coeur d’Alene girl drowned Sunday evening in her parents’ backyard pond after crawling out of the house.

Jade Kelly’s mother, Katrina, found the girl floating face down in the pond after returning home from the store. The girl had crawled unnoticed into the yard while her 24-year-old father, Jason, was caring for her, according to police.

She slipped into the yard behind the Pennsylvania Avenue house about 7:10 p.m. through a sliding door left open because of the heat. Jason Kelly told police he lost track of his daughter momentarily when Katrina Kelly, 25, came home.

Katrina Kelly told police she was gone less than 15 minutes. The pond is about three feet outside the sliding door.

The infant’s parents performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until paramedics arrived. She was taken to Kootenai Medical Center where doctors pronounced her dead.