'We Believe This Was a Miracle' Parents Share Story After Saving Young Daughters From Drowning in Edmond Pool

Two young sisters are in recovery after a near drowning in Edmond.

The girls’ parents, Jacob and Caitlin McKnight, found them at the bottom of a family pool in the Oak Tree neighborhood on May 3 and saved them.

“We do believe God was there,” said Jacob McKnight, the girls’ father. “We believe that there's a miracle at play.” 

The couple has three girls, Callie, 4, Zoey, 6 and Elenor, 1 and one on the way. From Kansas City, the family was visiting Jacob’s sister in Edmond while he had a business meeting.

“From two to five we were all out there together, me and all of the girls,” said Caitlin. “Ellie came in to say hi to daddy because she heard him talking and I followed. I went back out noticed that I didn't see them.”

The family immediately began to search inside and outside of the home.

“I'm starting to get pretty panicked at this point,” said Jacob. “I assumed the worst, so I ran over to the pool, and I could see, crystal clear, I saw them at the bottom of the pool.”

He said they were in the deep end, in 10 feet of water.

“It's the most horrific thing I hope no one ever has to deal with, to see something like that,” he said.

He said the fact he could see the girls through the murky water and then bring them to the surface were miracles in themselves.

“Immediately go into action start yelling for help,” Jacob remembers. “I dive in, go down bring up a 35-pound weight you know, body's taxed.”

Once the girls were out of the water, they began CPR.

“They were dead but our medical team with their knowledge, wisdom and equipment were able to bring them back,” he said. “We feel so blessed to be at this hospital.”

Despite the inflammation and damage in the lungs, the couple says the girls are improving.

“Both of them are awake and obviously they still can't talk because they've got the ventilator but they've both opened their eyes they've both responded to questions yes, no, both have smiled,” Caitlin said. “It's just really encouraging to see my girls are in there and they're fighting.”

A fighting chance their parents say they gave them by knowing CPR.

“You need CPR training if you have kids because you never know when literally it's between life and death,” Jacob said. “We believe this was a miracle.”

The parents say while the girls continue to improve, they have a long road to recovery.

If you would like to help the family, CLICK HERE to view a GoFundMe set up to assist with medical costs.