CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- The father of the 2-year-old girl who drowned after she slipped off a floating dock at Henricus Historical Park Thursday afternoon is talking about his desperate attempts to save his daughter.
The little girl fell into a pond that feeds an inlet off of the James River in the Dutch Gap Preservation Area.
Chesterfield police said a scuba rescue team pulled the body of Nikolette Stewart out of the water around 6 p.m.
Crews spent about two and a half hours searching for the child. Nikolette was on the dock with her father around 3:45 p.m. when she fell into the water. The girl's father jumped into the water in an effort to save his child, witnesses and Chesterfield Fire and EMS spokesman Lt. Jason Elmore said.
Nikolette Stewart and her father, Justin Mills.
Justin Mills, Nikolette’s father, said he was no more than three feet from his daughter when he said she shoved away near the edge of a floating l-shaped pier to take one last look the water. Mills said he reached for his daughter, but that it was too late.
"I didn't feel a trace. I dove under the pier and around it a number of times," Mills said. "I opened my eyes and it was nothing but green and brown -- all I could feel is branches."
Mills said he was screaming for help, but it felt like no one could hear him.
Nikolette’s body was recovered about 15 feet from where she fell into the murky water. The water at the end of the dock was six to eight feet deep.
Mills said when he could not find his daughter he felt “very numb” and realized all he could do was wait for crews to arrive.
Officials said the incident remains under investigation, but that foul play is not suspected.
The family has set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for Nikolette's funeral expenses.
