SADIE LAVINA GATES - 19 Months - Jacksonville NC

The parents of a toddler who drowned earlier this week in a rain-filled roadside ditch want the child’s babysitter arrested.Nineteen-month-old Sadie Lavina Gates drowned when she wandered out of mobile home at 3390 Burgaw Highway and fell into a drainage ditch. She was swept away by storm water, carried underneath N.C. 53 and found floating face down on the opposite side of the highway, authorities said.


The girl’s parents, Sean and Heather Gates, told reporters they want to see justice for their daughter.“I feel the closest thing to hatred I’ve ever felt,” Sean Gates said, adding that he knew judgment was up to God, but that the more he learned about the situation surrounding his daughter’s death the angrier he was becoming.Heather Gates said she helped the babysitter with the birth of one of her children and cared for the infant child. She said she thought she could depend on the babysitter to keep her child safe.“I thought I knew her,” Heather Gates said of the babysitter. “But I really don’t know who she is.”The Gates said they had been searching for a daycare center to care for Sadie, and the day she died was only the fourth time she had been kept by the babysitter.The Gates met with Onslow County Sheriff’s detectives Wednesday.Sheriff Ed Brown said he understood their pain.“I’d expect any good parents to feel that way,” he said, adding that the investigation hasn’t revealed which way the case will go.Brown said his detectives continue to investigate the events surrounding the toddler’s drowning and have conferred with prosecutors.Attempts to reach the 25-year-old babysitter, who has a pending court date for child not in rear seat infraction, were unsuccessful.
The Gates were married in September 2008 and have a 9-year-old son. Sean Gates said explaining to his son about what happened to his sister was the hardest thing he has ever had to do in his life.“If by moving on people mean things getting better then there is no way to move on,” Sean Gates said. “There will always be a hole my heart is sitting in.”The couple has had a hard time coping with the loss of their child.“I saw her after the doctors were through with her, and I’m still waiting for her to come home,” Heather Gates said. She said they could not spend Monday night in their home surrounded by their daughter’s toys, but had since been able to stay with the help of family.A steady stream of friends and well -wishers continued to stop by the Gates’ Southwest residence Wednesday as the family watched home videos of Sadie.“She was the happiest, most joyous child on the face of the earth,” Sean Gates said. “Everybody loved her. She didn’t just touch people’s lives; she left an imprint.”The child’s cause of death was determined to be drowning and the manner of death ruled accidental Tuesday by Dr. John Almeida, the Onslow County medical examiner who conducted her autopsy.Neighbors told detectives that children at the residence where Sadie drowned are constantly playing in and around the drainage ditch that runs beside the home.The four-foot deep ditch was nearly topped-off with rain waters Monday. The National Weather Service is not classifying the girl’s death as flood-related.Sadie’s funeral will be held Saturday. Memorial contributions may be made to the Sadie Lavina Gates Memorial Fund, C/O Allen’s Automotive or Shephard’s Auto Detailing.“You can’t hug, kiss or touch your kids enough,” Sean Gates said.