What started as a joyous weekend quickly turned into a tragedy when two-year-old Kaloni Carbin's family noticed she was missing.
Kaloni, who is from Beaumont, disappeared during a family reunion at Carver Park on Carver and North Westward. More than a hundred people had gathered in the park for two different family reunions, so there was some confusion. The little girl's family said they saw her playing with the other kids, and then the next minute, she was gone.
Search crews from all around the area descended on the park around 7pm, after Kaloni's family reported her missing. Shortly after that, an Amber Alert was issued.
K-9 units searched the park grounds while divers searched the park's pond for more than five hours.
While crews and volunteers combed the area for any sign of the toddler, some of her family members held hands and prayed. Around 12:30am, the family's prayers turned to screams and cries when a diver located Kaloni's body.
It's unclear exactly how she got in the water, but police say it's most likely she simply fell in when no one was looking.
"I'm gonna miss my grandbaby. She's the only grand-daughter I have, and I love her. And I am going to miss her," the girl's grandmother, Adriane Jackson, told us as she cried.
The search is over, but the grieving just beginning for the little girl's family.
"Pray for our family," aunt Anita Oliphant said. "This is a very trying time for us right now; a very heartbreaking moment."
"She was just lovable a lovable baby. And it's just hard, hard for our family right now," aunt Shaquitha Corbin said.
A small but sincere memorial sits by the edge of the pond. Marcus Carter and his son placed a sign and stuffed animals there early Sunday morning.
"I don't know the little girl, but I feel like it's a daughter of mine. I don't want to see that happen to no child," Carter said.
Texas City police are still investigating how the little girl got separated from her family. Right now, this is being treated as an unfortunate accident.
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