Neighbors described the heart-wrenching scene amid the distraught family's efforts to call 911 and enlist help from those on the block once they realized the girls got outside. "The mother was frantic looking for them, and the whole neighborhood came out. We were all looking for them," said Marge Baldi, a neighbor. "How do these things happen? That's why they're called tragic accidents. They have a gate, they have all the safety precautions. I've never seen the children left unattended."
Good Samaritans made the unthinkable discovery in the pond moments later. The girls could not be saved by responding police, who have not said how they believe the children were able to get out of the apartment. "That's possible, one fell in the other tried to help. It's unimaginable," Baldi said.
"Everyone is just really in shock, honestly, because this is a beautiful place to live. A lot of us chose to live here because of the lake and everything, and the water, so it just sheds a different light on it," said Alyssa Knott, another neighbor.
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