A two-year-old girl who died after falling into a garden pond on Christmas Day was the “happiest, smiliest, most adventurous little girl”, her family has said.
Isobel Wallace was discovered during festive celebrations at her parents’ new home in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
The girl’s family said she had been playing happily with toys before she disappeared briefly from view.
The “tragic accident” happened despite temporary fencing around the pond, her family said, adding that they were “absolutely heartbroken”.
In a post on social media, Isobel’s mother, Tamara Wallace, said the two-year-old had been full of “adventure and fire” and that she “lived more in her two years than some children did in a lifetime”.
A fundraising page set up by Isobel’s aunt Abigail Maxwell has raised more than £19,000 towards a memorial garden, funeral costs and counselling for the parents.
Maxwell described her niece as “the happiest, smiliest, most adventurous & curious” little girl who “lit up the lives of everyone”.
She added: “All of us are absolutely heartbroken. As you can imagine, this is the worst possible thing that could ever happen to parents, to lose their baby. She was so happy, so loved & they were the best parents who gave her the most wonderful life.”
Maxwell said her daughter and Isobel had been playing with their new toys inside the house on Christmas Day.
She added: “We couldn’t find her for a moment & in that moment, she’s gone in the garden & and fell in the pond.
“A pond that was not there through choice but due to a house move, their forever home which they were renovating. A pond that had a temporary fence around it, in a garden she would never have accessed by herself. A tragic accident.”
