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'She's a good mom:' Nassau officials investigate mother after baby drowns in bathtub

Nassau County deputies and the Department of Children and Families are investigating a local mother after her 14-month-old daughter drowned in a bathtub Tuesday afternoon.

“Just pray for her, it’s gotta be hard,” says Nancy Bushy, a neighbor.

Neighbors are heartbroken after learning the girl drowned in a bathtub.

“A baby, that’s horrible, just terrible,” says Nick Canale, another neighbor who says he has known the family his entire life.

“They’re really good people,” he says.

Deputies say the mother claimed she put the 14-month-old and 3-year-old in the tub, and walked away. When she came back, the baby was under water.

“I couldn’t believe she left them alone in the tub, don’t seem like her,” Bushy says.

Neighbors say they could see deputies trying to revive her. Sky Action News Jax was over the home along Linda Hall Road as deputies were seen going in and out of it for hours.

“She’s a good mom,” Canale says.

Action News Jax checked with DCF. They say the family doesn’t have a history with the child welfare system. Neighbors say the mom, her dad and two kids lived there and had been struggling for quite awhile.

“I kind of feel like it’s my own family, them being right next door,” Canale says.

Deputies say the 3-year-old is with the grandmother as DCF investigates.