Girl, 5, drowns in backyard pool during church party, deputies say

House registered to New Fellowship Church

NORTH LAUDERDALE, Fla. ā€“ By all accounts, what happened in the backyard of a North Lauderdale home on Sunday was unfortunate.Ā 

Itā€™s where the Broward County Sheriffā€™s Office said Victoria Brown, 5, drowned in a pool. Ā 

"Its just tragic.Ā  It was just a party, that's all," a witness, who didnā€™t want to be named, said. Ā 

The call for help went out late Sunday afternoon. Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā  Ā 

Victoria and her mother were at the house to celebrate the holiday weekend with people from church.Ā 

"She swam and we got them all out of the water and we don't know how she got back in the water," the witness said.

State tax paperwork for the Ā New Fellowship Church comes back to an address of the house where the gathering took place.Ā 

It appears the Victoria was swimming in the pool earlier in the day and somehow ended up back in the pool. Ā  Ā  Ā 

Local 10 News was told Ā it wasn't until someone went back outside later in the day that they noticed Victoria unresponsive in the water.Ā 

"It only takes a second for a child to get into a pool if they don't know how to swim and for it to be a complete tragedy," BSO spokeswoman Gina Carter said. Ā 

A GoFundMe account has been started to raise money for funeral expenses.Ā