Near Drowning Puts Child In Hospital

A 13-month-old girl is listed in critical condition after a near-drowning in the Styx River. Family members say it happened at a launch point for Styx River Canoe and Tube Rental near Lindholm road Saturday afternoon, July 18, 2009. The toddler was flown to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. The Baldwin County Sheriff's Office says the child was left with a seven year old boy before the drowning. Family members dispute that account saying the child's father turned away briefly and then she was in the water.

“[He] looked away for just a minute, when he looked back the baby was laying face down in the water he about panicked and started performing CPR,” says one of the victim’s relatives Jeremy Waldrop. Authorities have not released the victim's name. Family members say she's on a ventilator and the extent of brain damage is unknown.