Kayden McGowan-Fleck: Inquest hears twin tried to save brother

Kayden Fleck, pictured on the right, with his twin brother, Jayden

A coroner has found that a boy tried to save his five-year-old twin brother from drowning after they wandered off to see ducks in a nature park.

Kayden McGowan-Fleck died after falling into a fast-flowing river near the Ecos Centre in Ballymena in 2018.

Coroner Anne-Louise Toal found that Kayden slipped sideways and fell into the river at around 12.30pm on February 10 2018.

She also found that the alarm was raised by his twin brother, Jayden.

Ms Toal said Jayden, who also fell into the water, tried to rescue Kayden by reaching out his hand but was unable to grip him.

She said it was clear from the evidence that Kayden was "a very much loved young boy".

She also noted that a health official had made it clear that his mother and father were "attentive, committed and loving parents".

'Any parents worst nightmare'

The coroner described the tragedy as "any parent's worst nightmare".

She praised what she described as the "heroic efforts" of the emergency response services to find Kayden during what she said must have been "a highly emotional afternoon".

Ms Toal singled out the evidence of Sean McCarry, regional commander of the Community Rescue Service. saying she was "particularly impressed" with his evidence.

Mr McCarry had described to the inquest how there were "multiple heroic rescue attempts" as many agencies worked alongside each other on the day of the tragedy.

• Parents tell of river death 'nightmare'

• Boy who drowned 'just melted your heart'

The coroner's findings paid tribute to all members of the emergency teams who took part in the operation in "extremely challenging and dangerous conditions".

She said most were volunteers who took part in around 400 searches annually.

She offered her condolences to Kayden's family.

The hearing had been told that the tragedy unfolded after the family travelled to their former home in Ballymena, after recently moving to a new home in Cullybackey.

They returned to their former Housing Executive home at Orkney Drive, in the Ballykeel area, on the morning of the tragedy for a final "once over" clean-up.

Kayden McGowan-Fleck was born with a complex heart disease but his parents described to the inquest how he was living a busy and active childhood

His mother, Leanne, told the inquest that while she was tidying up and removing curtains inside the house, her three children - the twins and their younger sister - were running around "laughing, going mad and carrying on".

Kayden was born with a complex heart disease but his parents described to the inquest how he had been living a busy and active childhood.

His mother said Kayden and Jayden were constantly together.

She said: "What his brother did, he had to do. Where his brother went, he had to go."

She went on to explain how they went outside where their father was taking down a shed.

Daryl Fleck said the boys were running around while he was removing the shed and he thought they had then gone back inside.

• Parents recall boy's final moments before drowning

Within minutes, the parents realised the twins were missing.

They frantically ran to the local shops and eventually to the area around the river, about half a mile away, to try to find them.

As Mr Fleck ran towards the river, he saw Jayden running towards him and called out: "Where's Kayden? Where's Kayden?"

The five-year-old replied: "Help, Daddy, he fell in the water."

The hearing was told that the path along the river was covered in snow and ice on the day of the tragedy.

It was also explained that the riverbank was muddy and slippery at the time, and Kayden was quickly swept away.

Mr Fleck said the river was "nearly breaking the banks".

'I tried to get him out'

Kayden, who attended Harryville Primary School, was found four miles downstream after dozens of members of various emergency services ran along both sides of the river bank trying to find him.

The assistant state pathologist, Peter Ingram, told the hearing that the boy "was effectively dead when removed from the water".

A statement from the boy's twin was also read into the record of the inquest.

Answering questions from a police officer following the tragedy, Jayden described how he also fell into the river but managed to get out.

The five year-old then explained how he attempted to save his brother, saying: "I tried to get him out but I couldn't."