Man Is So Devastated by What He Finds in His Above Ground Pool, He Tears It Down with a Hammer

by Greg Campbell | April 4, 2016 1:42 pm

Pools can be like magnets for kids. Unfortunately, even with the proper training, pools with unattended children swimming in them can be extremely dangerous. One man had an above-ground pool and after a local toddler was found dead in it, he could do nothing but tear it down and weep for the life lost[1].

ZPool2[2]

Friday night, a toddler was reported missing[3] in Virginia Beach, Virginia, around 7 p.m.

Twenty minutes later, the little girl was found floating in a nearby neighbor’s pool. Hours later, she tragically died in a local hospital.

According to the Virginian-Pilot[4], the above ground pool belonged to Kevin Dillard, who had no idea who the little girl was.

Nonetheless, he is grief-stricken over what happened in his own backyard.

Kevin Dillard pauses as he tears down the pool in his backyard Saturday morning. Heart-breaking photo via @K_Zeis[5]pic.twitter.com/uDKt5GBTVj[6]

— Laura Michalski (@MichalskiLaura) April 2, 2016[7]

So much so, that this Sunday morning, Dillard began to tear down the above ground pool, telling reporters:

“It devastates the hell out of me.”

A local photographer, Kristen Zels, posted this heartbreaking account to her Facebook page:

Virginia Beach man tears down pool after toddler neighbor is found in it https://t.co/SkXXw24xpP[8] pic.twitter.com/6furfiVkBP[9]

— The Virginian-Pilot (@PilotNews) April 3, 2016[10]

The post (now deleted) read, in part:

“This morning I had the assignment that no journalist wants. The one where a child has died and you have to go talk to the parents, neighbors, anyone you can to best tell the story of what happened.

Last night, while in the care of her grandmother, a toddler was reported missing from her Virginia Beach house. Shortly after, her body was found in the pool of her neighbor, Kevin Dillard.

Robyn and I showed up this morning to try to speak with the parents of the young girl and instead first found Mr. Dillard and his family. Tearing down the pool, once filled with happy memories, that a little girl had drowned in the night before.

In the pouring rain, he cried, while using a sledge hammer to pull down the pool. He couldn’t look at it anymore and he absolutely didn’t want to make the girls parents look at it either, he said.”

Neither the age of the little girl who drowned is known, nor how she got into the yard. She was reportedly[11] at home with her grandmother before she went missing.

Of Dillard, his niece, Katrina Taylor said, through tears, “he’s got the biggest heart.”

This is a tragedy all the way around. Nothing will heal this family who lost their baby girl.

Dillard’s act, however, is a thoughtful gesture. He evidently wanted to spare the neighbors the reminder of what happened and hopefully he, too, can try to move-past the horrific discovery.

Please pray for all who were affected by this tragedy.

Endnotes:
  1. he could do nothing but tear it down and weep for the life lost: http://www.ijreview.com/2016/04/575760-man-is-so-devastated-by-what-he-finds-in-his-above-ground-pool-he-tears-it-down-with-a-hammer/
  2. [Image]: https://rightwingnews1.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/ZPool2.jpg
  3.  reported missing: http://wset.com/news/local/va-man-tears-down-pool-after-toddler-found-dead-inside-it
  4. Virginian-Pilot: http://pilotonline.com/news/local/virginia-beach-man-tears-down-pool-after-toddler-neighbor-is/article_045bac1d-a669-54b0-96ab-29baea06e30c.html
  5. @K_Zeis: https://twitter.com/K_Zeis
  6. pic.twitter.com/uDKt5GBTVj: https://t.co/uDKt5GBTVj
  7. April 2, 2016: https://twitter.com/MichalskiLaura/status/716296729180684288
  8. https://t.co/SkXXw24xpP: https://t.co/SkXXw24xpP
  9. pic.twitter.com/6furfiVkBP: https://t.co/6furfiVkBP
  10. April 3, 2016: https://twitter.com/PilotNews/status/716645991324188672
  11. reportedly: http://www.13newsnow.com/news/local/mycity/virginia-beach/child-dies-after-being-found-in-pool-in-virginia-beach/114866033

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