A toddler left unattended for a few minutes fell head first into a mop bucket and drowned.
In a tragic incident, a toddler in Creston, Montana drowned after falling head first into a five-gallon mop bucket full of water.
Mariella Dalimata was 10 days shy of her first birthday when she drowned.
The girl's aunt, Brooke Schwab, says Mariella was left unattended for less than four minutes.
Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said the incident "is consistent with an accidental death."
The girl's body was taken to the state crime lab in Missoula for an autopsy.
Mariella's parents, Mark and Kayla Dalimata, and first responders tried to resuscitate the little girl, but she was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The family is devastated. Instead of planning a birthday party, they have to plan a funeral.
The Dalimatas want parents everywhere to be aware of how fast a drowning can occur, and that children should never be left unattended around water, not even for a second.
