Toddler dies week after falling in goldfish pond

SPRING LAKE, N.C. — A Cumberland County toddler found face down in a goldfish pond on Christmas Eve has died.

Authorities said Friday that 2-year-old Ramel Arthur died Thursday at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill of complications from the accident. The toddler had been playing outside Dec. 24 as his
grandfather and a neighbor were talking across a fence separating their properties.

Thomas J. Livingston told authorities when he didn’t see his grandson in the yard, he assumed the boy had gone inside the house. When Ramel did not answer his calls, he searched the backyard and found Ramel unresponsive in the pond.

Authorities say investigators have ruled the child’s death an accident, and no charges will be filed in the case.

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