Toddler Recovers From Fall Into Grandmother’s Pool : Rescue: Girl goes home from hospital just a day after accident. Two police detectives who happened to be nearby revived her.

A 2-year-old girl who rode her tricycle into her grandmother’s pool was well enough to leave the hospital Thursday, just 24 hours after the incident, hospital officials said.

“She’s a very lucky little girl,” said Corrine Alkofer, spokeswoman for Children’s Hospital of Orange County in Orange.

Thea Shannon toppled into the pool about 3 p.m. Wednesday. Her grandmother, Joan Skinner, had left Thea in the care of the toddler’s uncle while she ran an errand, police said. The toddler was in the water for just a few minutes when Skinner returned, found her floating in the deep end, pulled her out and called 911.

Thea’s survival was partly the result of fast action by two Costa Mesa police detectives, who were the first to arrive at Skinner’s house in the 2000 block of Balmoral Place.

“It’s a good feeling” to have helped save a child’s life, Detective Darrell Freeman said.

Freeman and partner Bill Redmond interrupted a stolen-property recovery to come to Thea’s aid when they heard the call over their police radio shortly after 3 p.m.

“The Fire Department was closer, but they’re slow because of those big trucks,” Freeman said. “The closest (police car) was about two or three miles away. So we got directions and rolled over there.”

When they arrived, they saw Skinner carrying the toddler out of the front of the house. They took Thea from her grandmother, laid her on the sidewalk, turned her over to clear her lungs and began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and “a little CPR,” Freeman said.

“We couldn’t find a pulse, but she was making a gasping sound, like she was trying to breathe but couldn’t,” Freeman said.

Freeman and Redmond beat Fire Department paramedics to the home by just a few minutes. As paramedics carried Thea into their ambulance, “I heard her give out a scream, which was a good sign,” Freeman said. “By the time they got to the hospital, I hear that she was fighting them, which was even better.

“It was a nice change to help out a little kid, because usually we’re investigating stolen property and burglaries,” he said.

Thea’s relatives were with her Thursday at the hospital but declined to be interviewed.

Three county children have drowned in back-yard pools or spas this year, and 13 others have nearly drowned. Southern California has a surge in such accidents during the warm-weather months, authorities said, making drowning the leading cause of death here for children ages 1 to 5.

Near-drownings can result in brain damage, especially if the child is under the water for more than six minutes, but Thea escaped permanent injury, according to Dr. Nick Anas, director of the hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit.

Anas said he “absolutely” favors stricter requirements for fences around pools.

“What we really recommend is that people who have children who can’t swim don’t have pools. . . , but the next-best thing is to put a fence around it,” he said.

Skinner’s pool had no safety fence, police said.