An outpouring of support is helping an Atlanta-area mother following the tragic deaths of her twin 5-year-old daughters, who drowned in a swimming pool at a vacation rental home near Walt Disney World.
The girls, identified as Paisley and Parker Sandidge of Riverdale, Georgia, were found unresponsive in a backyard pool on June 12, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office and local reports. Emergency responders rushed to the scene and the sisters were airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando. Despite extensive medical efforts, both children later died.
Authorities said the family had arrived at the short-term rental property less than 12 hours before the incident occurred as part of a planned summer vacation. Investigators reported that the girls were being supervised by a 15-year-old at the home while a parent briefly went to a nearby grocery store. The teenager reportedly called 911 after discovering the children in the pool.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said homicide detectives are investigating the case, which officials noted is standard procedure in incidents involving the death of children. The Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the official cause and manner of death.
In the wake of the tragedy, family friend Britney Mitchell launched a GoFundMe campaign titled “A Loving Farewell for Paisley and Parker” to help the girls’ mother, Courtney Sandidge, cover funeral and burial expenses. The fundraiser describes the sisters as “bright little lights” whose lives touched everyone around them.
As of Monday, the campaign had raised more than $17,000, with donations and messages of sympathy continuing to pour in from supporters across the country.
“No mother should have to bury her children,” Mitchell wrote in the fundraiser, asking the public to keep the family in their thoughts and prayers.
The heartbreaking loss of Paisley and Parker has left family members, friends, and community supporters mourning two young lives gone far too soon while rallying around their mother during an unimaginable period of grief.
