PPD Update on Gerhardt Drive Drownings: No Charges Anticipated

Pensacola, FL (NewsRadio 92.3) -- Two young girls are dead after Pensacola Police found them unresponsive in a neighbor's swimming pool Monday evening on Gerhardt Drive in the Cordova Park neighborhood — and Police Chief Eric Winstrom says the investigation points to a heartbreaking accident in which everyone involved did everything right.

Officers were called around 6:40 p.m. after the girls — ages five and eight — were reported missing from their home. The whole neighborhood came out to help search. About 7:10 p.m. officers found both girls unresponsive in a pool in a neighbor's backyard. Officers jumped in and pulled them out, beginning CPR immediately. Pensacola Fire and Escambia EMS responded and rushed the girls to the hospital where both were pronounced dead.

Winstrom described both girls as beautiful, precocious, and athletic. He said a sergeant on scene actually knew the older girl personally — and recalled her telling him she liked to explore. Neighbors described her as someone who could regularly be seen climbing sheds and structures around the neighborhood. Winstrom says it appears she scaled the pool fence and likely let her five-year-old sister in through a gate.

Doorbell camera footage from cooperative neighbors captured the two girls together approximately one hour before they were found — meaning they may have been in the pool for up to 55 minutes. Winstrom raised the heartbreaking possibility that the eight-year-old may have died trying to save her younger sister who was a less proficient swimmer.

The neighbor's pool had proper fencing — both a privacy fence around the backyard and a separate fence specifically around the pool. The homeowners were not home at the time and had to be called back to their property where investigators spent approximately six hours. Winstrom said the pool setup exceeded what he would expect and that the homeowners were gracious and cooperative throughout.

Winstrom said he does not anticipate criminal charges — describing the incident as a case where every adult involved did the right thing and tragedy happened anyway. Autopsies are pending and the investigation continues.

The toll on first responders was significant. Winstrom said the entire fire engine crew that responded was sent home to process. Many officers went home to hug their own children.

Anyone struggling in the aftermath of a tragedy can reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline around the clock by calling or texting 988.