Boy, 2, drowned in canal while family ‘were moving house due to water fears’
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A TWO-year-old boy drowned in a canal as his family were in the process of moving house due to fears of living so close to the water, an inquest heard. Jayce Olutola was found by a police officer after he went missing from his home in Ettingshall, Wolverhampton, on August 11.
![[Swans on a canal under a bridge.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2025-family-two-year-old-964392631.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The officer tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, Black Country Coroner's Court heard. The inquest was told Jayce lived with his parents on nearby Hendon Avenue but they were about to move house due to safety concerns over living so near to the waterway.
His mum had left the house at around 5pm 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. The inquest heard he probably escaped through the garage and his lifeless body was recovered from the Wolverhampton and Birmingham Canal at around 6pm.
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 they were "moving to a new home to minimise the risk of drowning". Mr Siddique added: "Jayce lived with his parents who were in the process of moving.
"His father was at work and his mother left at bout 5pm 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.
