A 4-year-old Georgia girl died after her father found her upside down in a water-filled trash can containing fish inside their Macon home last Saturday.
Jayde Wooten was discovered in a small bathroom at the residence on the 1200 block of Rocky Creek Road, according to an incident report reviewed by WGXA. Bibb County Sheriff’s Office deputies had been dispatched to the home shortly before 2 p.m. For a medical emergency.
Jayde’s father told a responding deputy he had just arrived home and realized the girl was not in her room. He then woke Jayde’s mother, Jorden Wooten, who told him she had last seen the 4-year-old eating in the kitchen before falling asleep herself.
The father searched the house before going outside to ask neighbors whether they had seen Jayde. After hearing Jorden Wooten scream, he returned inside and discovered his daughter upside down in the garbage can filled with water and fish. He pulled Jayde from the container and carried her outside to seek help.
A neighbor told the deputy that Jorden Wooten came to her home seeking help. The neighbor and a second resident alternated performing CPR on Jayde until Macon-Bibb firefighters arrived on the scene.
One neighbor told the deputy that Jayde expelled fluid from her mouth and briefly opened her eyes during CPR. That neighbor turned Jayde onto her side in an effort to clear her airway. The second neighbor told the deputy she could not detect a pulse while performing CPR.
The responding deputy noted a large bathroom container holding water and fish, as well as substantial water on the floor leading toward the front door. Firefighters and paramedics took over the emergency response before EMS transported Jayde to a nearby medical facility, where medical staff later pronounced her dead.
A spokesperson for the Macon-Bibb County Coroner’s Office said Thursday that Jayde’s autopsy results remained pending. As of Saturday, authorities had not released an official cause or manner of death.
A GoFundMe organized by Devin Wooten identified Maleek Wooten and Jorden Wooten as Jayde’s parents and described her death as a “horrible accident.”
“No parent should ever have to face this kind of pain,” the organizer wrote on the fundraising page.
The campaign had raised $3,755 toward a $5,500 goal as of Saturday, with donations designated to cover funeral costs and support the parents in the coming months.
The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office said additional details would be released as they become available. Investigators asked anyone with information to call 478-751-7500 or Macon Regional Crimestoppers at 1-877-68CRIME.