Toddler’s Drowning Renews Call for Water Safety

From the moment she was born, Kelsey Farwell was a bundle of energy, always in high spirits and extraordinarily friendly toward strangers, particularly anyone holding a bag of potato chips.

Her parents, Cathy and Randy Farwell, devout Christians, said Monday they believe there is a reason the little girl touched so many lives in such a short time.

Kelsey drowned last weekend, a couple weeks shy of her third birthday.

“God gave her to us for three very short years,” Cathy Farwell said. “She had an impact in that time like no one else could.”

Kelsey died Saturday at Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center in Tarzana--the morning after her mother found her floating face-down in an outdoor spa at a family friend’s home in the 800 block of Puesta Del Sol in Thousand Oaks.

Her body was examined Monday, and accidental drowning is listed as the official cause of death, said Scott Carrier, spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

The tragedy has public safety officials reminding parents to keep a watchful eye on their children when they are near water.

Child drownings are tragic and not uncommon, said Sgt. Jeff Matson of the Ventura County sheriff’s crime prevention unit.

He recalled how a 2-year-old Moorpark girl died a decade ago after she hit her head and collapsed face-down in a landscape pool with no more than four inches of water.

“You always want adults around at all times,” Matson said. “Certainly, all pools should have fences around them.”

Witnesses said Kelsey had been swimming with her three older siblings, her mother and other children at a neighborhood gathering Friday afternoon. The Agoura Hills family was visiting friends in Thousand Oaks.

When the toddler was finished swimming, her mother took her out of the pool, dried her off and removed the flotation devices she had on each arm.

Kelsey’s mother noticed the girl was missing about 10 minutes later and began looking for her.

The wall around an outdoor spa near the pool was elevated so Kelsey was not immediately spotted, sheriff’s deputies said. By the time Cathy found her, authorities estimate she had been in the water five to 15 minutes.

Attempts by neighbors and Ventura County medical personnel to revive her with CPR failed.

“As a mother, I never dreamed in a million years this would have happened to me,” Cathy said.

She stayed at Kelsey’s bedside all night, hugging and kissing her, and begging her to pull through.

By morning, however, Cathy realized her baby would not survive.

“I told her, ‘It’s OK if you go to Heaven and be with Jesus,’ ” she said, “ ‘because I know one day I’m going to be there with you.’ ”

A graveside service is planned for 2 p.m. Wednesday at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village.

A memorial service will follow at 3 p.m. in the Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village.

Donations for a planned playground at the church may be mailed to 31293 Via Colinas, Westlake Village 91362.