The infant daughter of former Olympian Bode Miller has died in a tragic pool accident.
Bode and his wife, Morgan, were attending a neighbor’s party on Sunday when their 19-month-old daughter Emeline Grier Miller ended up in the pool.
The little girl was rescued from the water but paramedics were unable to revive her, and she later died in hospital.
Miller took to Instagram to share a sweet snap of his daughter and wrote: ‘We are beyond devastated. Our baby girl, Emmy, passed away yesterday.
Miller took to Instagram to share a sweet snap (seen above) of his daughter and wrote: ‘We are beyond devastated. Our baby girl, Emmy, passed away yesterday’
Bode and his wife, Morgan, (who is pregnant) were attending a neighbor’s party on Sunday when their 19-month-old daughter Emeline Grier Miller ended up in the pool
Miller took to Instagram to share a sweet snap of his daughter and wrote: ‘We are beyond devastated. Our baby girl, Emmy, passed away yesterday’
‘Never in a million years did we think we would experience a pain like this. Her love, her light, her spirit will never be forgotten.
‘Our little girl loved life and lived it to it’s fullest everyday. Our family respectfully requests privacy during this painful time.’
Miller has four children – Emeline, named after Bode’s grandmother, was the youngest.
The former world champion skier and his volleyball player wife had welcomed little Emeline into the world in November 2016.
The baby girl is Bode’s second with Morgan, who gave birth to their son Nash Skan Miller in May 2015.
Bode Miller (left) and his wife Morgan Beck Miller (right), with Emeline as a newborn
Morgan also posted this photograph on Sunday, gushing about her world champion skier husband cradling a child in each arm
This is Bode’s (pictured above with Morgan) fourth child by three different mothers
The 39-year-old Alpine skiing champion also has a daughter, Neesyn Dacey, with an ex-girlfriend, Chanel Johnson, and a son, Sam, with another former flame, Sara McKenna – and he has made headlines as much for his skills on the slopes as he has for his child custody disputes.
His custody battle with Sara had been so bitter that he refuses to call their son Sam, instead opting for ‘Nate’. Bode chose the name to honor his brother who died of a seizure at the age of 29 in 2013.
Sara, a former Marine he met through a matchmaking service, fell pregnant with his child three months into their relationship and Bode said he did not want to raise the boy with her.
At seven months pregnant, Sara moved from California to New York to attend Columbia University on the G.I. Bill, while he married Morgan.
The athlete (pictured above with his three children)
Sara said she told him of her plans in a text message but he never responded.
But two weeks after Sam was born in February 2013, Bode filed for custody in California and she temporarily lost custody of him, Sara recounted in an essay forCosmopolitan.
In September 2013, a judge gave Bode full custody of Sam, calling Sara’s move to New York ‘irresponsible’ and ‘irreprehensible’, but she ultimately won back custody of her son.
The details of the custody deal finalized at the end of 2014 have not been made public.
‘Neither of us got exactly what we wanted, but Sam got what he needed and that’s what’s most important to me,’ Sara, 28, said at the time.
Bode has also fought Dacey’s mother, who has remarried and now goes by the name Chanel Pugh, for joint and physical custody of their daughter, as well as child support payments.
In September, Bode (above in 2015) asked a federal judge to void his contract with a former sponsor who is trying to ban him from making a comeback in the competitive circuit
He and Morgan regularly share images of his oldest two children across their social media pages, where they call Sam ‘Nate’.
Bode and Morgan, who met in 2012 just months after he began dating Sara, were married in October 2012.
Their baby boy, born in 2015, was the first child for Morgan.
In 2013, she suffered a miscarriage with Bode’s child just a month before Sam was born.
Two years ago, after Morgan announced she was pregnant, Sara wrote online: ‘I hope he and his wife, Morgan, have a healthy and beautiful baby and grow with their new parental roles.
Bode, a native of New Hampshire, and his wife live in California. He is pictured above with his three children
‘I’m happy [Sam] will have another sibling. He is so loving and sweet, and will be an amazing big brother just like he is a great little brother.’
But she added that she was pursuing legal action against Morgan, who had falsely suggested online that Sara only fell pregnant with Bode’s son after she fished a condom out of the trash.
Bode, a native of New Hampshire, now lives in California with his wife. In September he asked a federal judge to void his contract with a former sponsor who is trying to ban him from making a comeback in the competitive circuit.
He filed a lawsuit against his former sponsor Head USA Inc in a California court, who has threatened him with legal action if he returns to competitive skiing.
The skier wants to return to the slopes for the 2016/2017 World Cup and Championship season – sponsored by ski product manufacturer Bomber – in hopes of securing his family’s financial future.