An American social media influencer has issued an emotional plea to parents about backyard pool safety, marking six months since her three-year-old son tragically drowned in the family pool.
Emilie Kiser shared a heartbreaking statement on Instagram, describing how an ordinary day on May 12, 2025 turned into the "worst moments of my entire life" when her son Trigg drowned in their Arizona backyard pool.
A Mother's Grief and Unbreakable Bond
Kiser expressed the profound depth of her loss, writing about the constant ache of missing her young son. "I miss him with every fibre of my being," she shared. "Every ounce of me yearns to hold him again, hug him again, tell him how special he is and how much I love him."
The grieving mother described cherishing memories of Trigg's unique personality - his voice, hugs, smile, laugh, and the adorable way he "added a 'k' sound to any word ending with the letter 's'." She vowed to never stop talking about him, watching videos of him, or sharing his memory in conversations.
Critical Safety Advice That Could Save Lives
Turning her personal tragedy into a powerful warning for other families, Kiser offered crucial safety recommendations she believes could prevent similar accidents.
"Please watch your children at all times," she urged. "No amount of supervision is too much or 'helicopter parenting'."
Her most emphatic advice focused on physical barriers: "Please get a pool fence, not an automatic cover, not a net, a fence. Better yet, add a fence around those other barriers."
Kiser also recommended installing pool alarms, adding extra locks, and enrolling children in swimming lessons as early as six months old. "Please take every precaution possible around water with your children," she stressed. "Drowning is quick and preventable."
The Tragic Circumstances and Investigation
According to a Chandler Police Department incident report, the family's pool was typically protected by a net-like cover, but it had been removed for a cleaning scheduled the day after the tragedy.
At the time of the incident, Trigg's father Brady was the only parent at home and initially told police he had lost sight of his son for three to five minutes before discovering him in the pool.
However, video evidence reviewed by investigators revealed a more distressing timeline: Trigg had been unsupervised in the backyard for more than nine minutes, and in the water for approximately seven of those minutes.
Police had recommended felony child abuse charges against Brady Kiser, but Maricopa County attorney Rachel Mitchell confirmed prosecutors wouldn't proceed with the case, citing no "reasonable likelihood of a conviction."
Since the tragedy, Kiser has reflected that the hardest lesson learned was that "a permanent pool fence could have saved Trigg's life" - a realization that now fuels her mission to protect other families from similar heartbreak.
