Tragedy hit one family during the Memorial Day weekend.
A one-year-old girl from Fayetteville drowned while visiting Conway, SC, Horry County Chief Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard said.
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Willard said Gianna Dawkins was found just after 6:30 p.m. Saturday in a pond near her family on Cheyenne Road. Her family was visiting family friends in South Carolina for the holiday.
Her mother, Bria Jackson, told WRAL she believes she slipped down an embankment and fell into a pond.
"We didn't know she went outside," Jackson said.
The family began looking for Gianna once they realized she was missing. Her aunt ran down to the water, saw a piece of her dress floating in the pond, and let out a scream, Jackson said. When the family heard the scream, they came running.
She was only in the water for less than three minutes, Jackson said. Gianna's father pulled her from the water, and she had a faint pulse.
They called 911 and attempted to perform CPR. Jackson said that the dispatcher could not explain how to do CPR and her father wasn't able to perform it. The ambulance took 15 minutes to arrive and help her daughter, Jackson said.
The little girl died from asphyxiation due to drowning at the scene, according to Willard.
"My daughter she was so special, she loved music she loved to dance," Jackson said.
Her favorite colors were neon pink and neon green.
"She was a Gemini so she was fiery," she said. "My daughter was an angel, she was so special."
A GoFundMe has been set up in Gianna Dawkins' name to help cover the cost of her funeral.
"She was smart, she was so talkative," she said. "She was just learning how to say 'Mamma.'"