Olympic alpine skierBode Millerand his wife Morgan Beck Miller opened up for the first time aboutthe unimaginable accidentthat lead to the death of their19-month-old daughterEmeline Grierlast month during an emotional appearance onToday, Monday.
“It was a normal day,” Morgan explained toSavannah Guthriein the couple’s first televised interview since Emeline drowned in June.
After spending part of the day at a birthday party, Morgan, 31, told Guthrie she took the couple’s three younger children to a neighbor’s house while Bode, 40, went to his older daughter Neesyn’s softball game.
As Morgan was chatting and enjoying a tea, she recalled Emeline walking between where the mom was sitting and the guest bedroom, where the other kids were playing — “which was all of 15 feet,” she noted.
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“And, all of the sudden, it was just too quiet for me,” Morgan said. “We were mid-conversation, and I just stood up, and I turned, and I walked right to where the boys were, and I said, ‘Where’s Emmy?’ And before Nate could respond, I turned around the door that leads to the backyard — that was closed — had this tiny sliver of light coming through the side.”
She recalled, fighting back tears, “And my heart sank, and I opened the door, and she was floating in the pool. And I ran, and I jumped in.”
Emeline drowned around 6:30 p.m. in Coto de Caza, California, on June 9.
Bode told Guthrie he listened to the tragic events unfold through the phone — “just in shock,” he said — as CPR was performed andemergency responders from the Orange County Fire Department arrived. Emeline was unable to be resuscitated, and she died the next day, June 10.
Bode Miller/Instagram
“Guilt is the most difficult thing,” Morgan toldToday.“I hope and pray and beg that it gets easier.”
They alsowant other parents to know the importance of practicing water safety— a topic they have always taken seriously. In fact, the Millers taught Emeline’s brothers to swim before she was born, and have always had a fence around their pool.
“The reality is as a parent you can’t dodge responsibility with your kids,” Bode said. “That part is probably the single most difficult part to get over.”
source: people.com
