A 2-year-old girl, Eva-Rose Wainwright, was discovered lifeless in a river in Lifton, Devon, shortly after her father left her to play near the water while he tended to sheep in a nearby field. Tragically, when the father returned approximately 15 to 20 minutes later, he found Eva-Rose face down in the stream.
Emergency services were called to the scene, but despite their efforts, Eva-Rose was pronounced dead shortly after. The subsequent inquest in Exeter detailed the heartbreaking final moments of the young girl.
Coroner Alison Longhorn described the incident as a “truly tragic death of a little girl” and emphasized the risks that even shallow water poses to unsupervised young children.
The coroner ruled Eva-Rose’s death as accidental. On the day of the incident, her father, Charles Wainwright, had taken her to a property in Lifton to round up sheep from a field. He left Eva-Rose playing in the river bed with their dog, believing the water to be shallow with a depth of around 30cm. Mr. Wainwright periodically checked on his daughter before finding her unresponsive in the water.
After realizing Eva-Rose was not breathing, Mr. Wainwright performed CPR and then rushed to call emergency services from a nearby property. Despite his efforts and the arrival of paramedics, there was a delay in locating them initially.
A post-mortem examination revealed that Eva-Rose, a healthy 2-year-old, had drowned. Additionally, she had a forehead bruise, but the pathologist determined it was not a contributing factor to her death, possibly causing disorientation before the drowning incident.
Following a police investigation in which no charges were filed due to no evidence of third-party involvement, an online obituary commemorated Eva-Rose as a beloved daughter, sister, granddaughter, and niece.
The obituary expressed deep sorrow over her premature passing and how she would be dearly missed by her family and friends. It mentioned that around 400 people drown each year in the UK, as reported by the National Water Safety Forum.
