Olympic alpine skier Bode Miller learned of his 19-month-old daughter Emeline‘s swimming pool accident in what was no doubt the worst phone call of his life.
Orange County Fire Authority Captain Steve Concialdi tells PEOPLE Miller, 40, was not at his neighbor’s house when his daughter was found unresponsive in their pool on Saturday.
“Somebody from the scene called Bode to let him know what happened and that his child was being transported to Mission Hospital,” says Concialdi about the accident which occurred in Coto de Caza, California. It is unclear who made the call.
While Miller was not present when the accidental drowning took place, his wife, Morgan Beck Miller was just steps away inside of the home when their daughter went “missing for just a short amount of time.”
Beck Miller, who is currently 6 months pregnant, pulled her daughter out of the pool where she and her friends started CPR before paramedics arrived. Concialdi says the little girl’s mom then “rode in the front of the ambulance to the hospital.”
Concialdi told PEOPLE on Tuesday that Emeline fell into the pool around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday night.
“They were at a neighbor’s house, talking to the neighbors inside, and somehow the little girl made her way to the backyard pool,” he said.
“She was only missing for just a short amount of time and Mom turned and was looking for her and didn’t see her right next to her,” he continued. “Mom went straight to the backyard to where the pool was. The child was in the pool. The mom pulled out the little girl and they started CPR immediately.”
Concialdi confirmed drowning as the cause of death even though Emeline was only in the water “a very short amount of time.”
“As our guys approached the backyard, they just handed the child to our firefighter paramedics” and she was rushed to Mission Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The Orange County Fire Authority released the frantic 911 call on Tuesday in which a man performing CPR on the little girl was heard saying, “Come on, come on baby girl. Come on, girl. Come on baby. Come on baby. Get it out. Come on, honey.”
An unnamed woman who called 911 echoed the man’s words saying, “Come on baby girl, you got this.”
Miller and his wife share one other child, son Nash Skan, 3, and are expecting another child together which they announced in April.
The athlete also has two other children from previous relationships: son Samuel, 5, and daughter Neesyn, 10.
On Tuesday, Miller and Morgan gave thanks to their fans for their support on Instagram. Miller shared a father-daughter photo, writing, “Thank you for all the love and support and to our midwives @lindseymeehleis and @courtneykellis for helping us find the support our family needs during this impossible time,” he wrote.
“Links in bio,” Miller added, referring to a GoFundMe and meal train set up for the family where individuals can donate their money and time to help their family.
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