THE lifeless body of Aleena Mohamed of Lot 5 Harlem Public Road, West Coast Demerara was pulled from the canal aback of her home on Sunday afternoon, minutes after she had ventured into backyard.

Grandfather of the deceased child, Abdool Mohamed, told the Guyana Chronicle that it was between 16:30hrs and 17:00hrs the child was playing in the back yard and was about to receive a bath.

However, the child’s mother, Kaishrie Ramchand, briefly went upstairs to get a towel for the child’s bath and left Aleena Mohamed, who was one year, four months old, unattended. By the time she returned downstairs the child was missing. He related that neighbours were alerted after a search around the yard came up empty. Another search was launched and persons decided to dive into the canal, when, after about an hour of searching, they found the body of the child.

Police, in a statement, said it is alleged that Aleena Mohamed died by drowning which occurred between 17:00hrs and 18:50hrs on October 28, 2019. The police were summoned and visited the scene at about 19:10hrs. It was reported that at the back yard of the home, is a sheep pen with two gates. From the said sheep pen back gate leads to a trench which runs east to west. The mother of the deceased alleged that about 17:00hrs she took Aleena Mohamed to the back yard for a bath, forgetting the sheep pen gates were opened. She however, left the child at the said back yard and went upstairs to collect a towel and upon her return did not see the child. An alarm was raised and searches were conducted in the said trench and the body of the child was found by the search party, about 50 feet away from the house. The child was immediately rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where she was pronounced dead by Dr Hendricks. The body was without clothing. The body was examined by police and no marks of violence were seen on the body, police said. The body was then taken to the Ezekiel Funeral home where it is awaiting post mortem examination. The incident was reported to the police at 18:45hrs and investigations are ongoing.

Abdool Mohamed explained that in the back yard there is a gate which is usually locked but this time it was opened. Mohamed surmised that the child may have slipped and fell after she went out in the sheep pen area and was swept away with the tide, since during that time, the tide was high. He described the loss as great since the child was jovial and loving and will be greatly missed because of her friendly disposition. Mohamed stated that his grand daughter’s death is difficult because earlier this year he lost his wife due to illness.