Family of two-year-old found in Wolverhampton canal were moving house due to safety concerns when tragedy struck
The family of a two-year-old boy found floating in a Wolverhampton canal were in the process of moving due to the closeness of their home to the waterway when tragedy struck, the inquest heard.
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Jayce Olutola was found in the Wolverhampton and Birmingham Canal on August 11 by a police officer after he went missing from his home on Hendon Avenue in Ettingshall shortly before 5.30pm, prompting a search.
At the inquest held on Thursday, the Black Country Senior Coroner Mr Zafar Siddique read aloud statements from the family whom he said were excused from attending the hearing due to the distressing circumstances.
He told the Oldbury hearing said they were "moving to a new home to minimise the risk of drowning".
Mr Siddique said: "Jayce lived with his parents who were in the process of moving. His father was at work and his mother left at bout 5pm to move things into the new property.
"At some point his great-aunt noticed she could not hear Jayce in the house. She searched the house and saw that the garage door was open. She immediately went to search round the house for him and out in the streets nearby.
