Family raising money for funeral expenses after tragic death of 4-year-old
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (WWSB) - The family of a 4-year-old girl who was found in a canal after wandering away from a vacation rental is raising funds to help with expenses.
Evelyn Geer’s mother frantically called 911 just after 3 a.m. to report that her daughter was missing from the rented home on Barksdale Street.
“She’s gone,” she is heard to say in a heavily redacted recording of the 911 call. “This can’t be happening.”
The dispatcher is heard trying to calm her. “I have a lot of deputies heading your way,” she said. “We’re going to help look for her.”
K-9 units were brought to the scene and drones were employed in the search.
Evelyn’s body was found along the the edge of a canal behind the home by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers who joined the search by boat, the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office has confirmed that Evelyn was on the autism spectrum and is thought to have wandered off toward the canal. The family had been displaced and had been staying in the vacation rental for the past two weeks.
Evelyn’s grandmother, Tina Kolman, has started a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses.
“We lost our most precious shining star today and it is with the heaviest of hearts that I create this account to help pay for her funeral expenses,” Kolma wrote. “Forgive me as I am truly at a loss for words. If you can please donate, if you can’t donate please share and keep our family in your prayers.”
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