A two-year-old girl drowned in a swimming pool on northwest side Wednesday night in Tucson's first drowning incident of 2017.
Just before 7 p.m., Northwest Fire District responded to the 4100 block of West Sugarcane Street, in the area of North Oldfather and West Cortaro Farms Road, for reports of a child who wasn't breathing, said department spokesman Capt. Brian Keeley.
The child's mother, who called 911 to report the drowning, was performing CPR when paramedics arrived and said that the child was found floating in the backyard pool. Paramedics took over CPR and transported the child to a local hospital, where she was pronounced deceased, Keeley said.
The child had been in a back bedroom in the home but was missing when her mother went to check on her. Initial findings indicate that the child was able to open a door to the backyard. Although the pool had a fence, two sections had been taken down the day before for repairs, and the child was able to gain access, Keeley said.
Thirty minutes may have passed between when the child was last seen alive and when she was found in the pool.
The Pima County Sheriff's Department is investigating the incident.
