Twins die in apparent accidental drowning in Ridgely pond

Citizen Staff Report
RIDGELY, Mo. — Twin siblings — Arrabelle and Elijah Wagner— died after an apparent accidental drowning in a pond near their home Monday, March 20. 
At approximately 10:14 a.m., the father called 911 to report that his three-year-old children were missing from the home. The Platte County Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) began to conduct a search of the area. 
The MSHP Dive Team was contacted to search the pond before the children were located. 
Maj. Erik Holland of the Platte County Sheriff’s Office said that before emergency crews arrived on the scene, Arrabelle was pulled from the water near a dock and CPR was initiated. The Smithville Fire Protection District then found Elijah and pulled him from the water to begin CPR.
Elijah was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officials initially indicated that Arrabelle had been transported to an area hospital where she was in critical condition. Just after 1 p.m., the announcement was made that Arrabelle had died, as well.
The investigation is currently being treated as an accident with no evidence of foul play present.
 “Right now, we don’t have anything that indicates anything other than an accident,” Holland said. “We have to do a thorough investigation; we don’t make assumptions.”
Investigators are working on establishing a definitive timeline from when the children were last seen to when they were reported missing. 
The home is located just north of Highway 92, south of Ridgely and west of Smithville in rural Platte County. Responders were sent to the 19000 block of South Ridgely Road, and aerial views provided by TV news helicopters showed a large pond with a dock that emergency personnel had gathered around.