California boy, 3, drowns after wandering off during family gathering and falling into next-door neighbor's pool

A three-year-old California boy has died after police say he wandered off during a family gathering on Saturday and ended up in a next-door neighbor's pool. 

The incident took place in the 1700 block of Pinecrest Lane in Modesto at around 6.30pm on Saturday, according to police. 

A family were at a gathering that evening and the three-year-old was believed to be indoors, Sgt Michael Hicks, of the Modesto Police Department, said. 

A three-year-old boy on Saturday drowned in a neighbor's pool in the 1700 block of Pinecrest Lane in Modest, California (area pictured from above) 

Unbeknownst to his parents, the toddler somehow made his way to the next-door neighbors' property, possibly through some loose boards in the fence separating the two homes, reported The Modesto Bee.

No one saw the child enter the neighbors’ yard, and the gate remained secured.

The owner of the home later went to sit on her patio and discovered the toddler floating in her pool.

The woman alerted her husband, who pulled the three-year-old from the water and proceeded to perform CPR on him while his wife ran next door to tell the parents.

The child's parents were at a gathering and did not know the toddler had slipped out of the house and made his out to the next-door neighbors' property through some loose fence planks

Police said the boy's father arrived moments later and took over the CPR efforts until paramedics responded to the scene. Despite repeated attempts to revive him, the toddler was pronounced dead.

Officials did not say how long the boy was in the water.

His family told police they did not know he had wandered off from the gathering until the female neighbor came over to tell them the boy was in her pool.

As of Monday afternoon, the deceased child has not been publicly identified.