Boy, 2, drowned in canal before family were due to move house over fear of water
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A two-year-old boy drowned in a canal shortly before his family had planned to move – due to fears of living near open water. An inquest heard that toddler Jayce Olutola was found floating face down by a police officer after he went missing from his home in Ettingshall, Wolverhampton on August 11 last year.
![[FILE PICTURE - Tributes left at the side of the canal off Hendon Avenue in Ettingshall, Wolverhampton, where a child died yesterday evening (Aug 11). August 12, 2024. Release date ??? January 17, 2025. The family of a two-year-old boy found floating in a Wolverhampton canal were in the process of moving due to the closeness of their home to the waterway when tragedy struck, the inquest heard. Jayce Olutola was found in the Wolverhampton and Birmingham Canal on August 11 by a police officer after he went missing from his home on Hendon Avenue in Ettingshall shortly before 5.30pm, prompting a search. At the inquest held on Thursday, the Black Country Senior Coroner Mr Zafar Siddique read aloud statements from the family whom he said were excused from attending the hearing due to the distressing circumstances.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236268513-d882.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
The officer tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, Black Country Coroner’s Court heard. Little Jayce lived with his parents on nearby Hendon Avenue, but the family had planned to move due to safety concerns over living so near to the waterway.
His mum had left the house at around 5 pm to move things into the new property but left the garage door open. Around half an hour later, emergency services were called after his great-aunt realised the toddler was nowhere to be found indoors. It’s thought Jayce left through the garage before his body was found an hour later in the Wolverhampton and Birmingham Canal at around 6 pm.
Black Country Senior Coroner Mr Zafar Siddique read statements from the family who he said were excused from attending the hearing due to the distressing circumstances. He said: ‘Jayce lived with his parents who were in the process of moving. His father was at work and his mother left at about 5 pm to move things into the new property.
‘At some point, his great-aunt noticed she could not hear Jayce in the house. She searched the house and saw that the garage door was open. ‘She immediately went to search round the house for him and out in the streets nearby. Sadly she could not find him and started to look round the canal area. His mother then returned and dialled 999 to report him missing.’.
