‘Beautiful kids’ mourned after Glanbrook off-roading tragedy

Emilia: sweet and consoling."

Noah: wild and free."

That's how their devastated parents want the youngsters remembered after losing them to an all-terrain-vehicle accident Saturday in Glanbrook.

The girl, 8, and boy, 6, died after the side-by-side (an off-road vehicle with four wheels and a roll cage) they were riding with their father submerged into a pond on a rural property off Miles Road.

I think the both of them want everybody to know what beautiful kids they were," relative Maggie Araujo said Monday. But I also want you to know how great parents they were, too."

The children's mother and father, David Freire and Ashley Braga-Freire, both 35, are staying with her in east Hamilton in the horrific aftermath.

Being in their upper Stoney Creek home, where there are constant reminders of their children, is just too much right now, Araujo said.

So they just need to get their strength up so they can face it."

Emilia and Noah idolized their parents," Araujo said.

The boy wanted to be just like his dad," a heavy machine operator who rides a motorbike.

He had no fear and he was our little rebel. He did everything that he could to try new things and was always excited."

His big sister, meanwhile, was mothering," and the life of the party," Araujo said. Loved to sing; loved to perform; loved to dance."

A social butterfly," Emilia was like a little diva" who loved anything blingy," she added.

She had her beautiful dog that constantly slept with her, Lola."

On Saturday afternoon, as he'd done in the past, David headed to the Mount Hope area to take Emilia and Noah for a ride.

David knows the area well, having grown up there, Araujo said. But it was the first time he'd taken the children to the rural Miles Road property between Airport and White Church roads.

Not long into their ride, Noah spotted some ducks in the pond. He wanted to get a closer look, so his father drove the three-seater forward. The boy could see the ducks' feet just below the surface, which gave the impression that the pond was shallow, Araujo said.

And as they got closer, that's when he saw the front tire go in and that's when it was too late."

The vehicle, with the children wearing seatbelts, turned over. David couldn't keep the machine from sinking into what turned out to be deep water.

As soon as it started flipping, he tried, he tried. It got stuck and it just kept going down," Araujo said.

His phone lost in the water, David ran to a nearby home and frantically asked a man for help.

That was James Case, who called 911 and he ran toward the pond with the desperate stranger to help save his children. He grabbed a ladder to try locating the vehicle.

We saw where it went in, but the water's deep and the machine can't float," said Case, who also noted it's murky, offering almost no visibility.

Despite the tremendous loss, David and Ashley are in deep gratitude to Case for his efforts, said Araujo, through sobs.

A sign at the edge of the pond visible from Miles Road warns, Danger Deep Water."

But David believes the deceptively deep pond - which police say measures 30 feet to its bottom - should have a barrier around it, Araujo said.

What would the cost be to put something to protect anyone in the future?"

Dozens of first responders - police, firefighters and paramedics - rushed to the scene to try saving the children after receiving the call just after 4 p.m. Saturday.

Around 7 p.m. that evening, Hamilton EMS told The Spectator two children and one adult had been taken to hospital. The man was stable, but the children's condition was life-threatening ... with resuscitative efforts ongoing."

In a news release later that night, police announced the children had died in hospital.

We are heartbroken over this tragic incident," Supt. Treena MacSween wrote in a Twitter post. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends (and) first responders during this difficult time."

Araujo described David and Ashley (who is her niece) as hardworking people. They own and operate a cleaning business. But they always made plans for their children whenever they had free time.

In fact, earlier Saturday - before the unimaginable tragedy unfolded - they'd booked a trip to Great Wolf Lodge, a popular water park resort in Niagara Falls.

Now, they're not able to do that," Araujo said.

A friend has started an online effort on GoFundMe (Emilia and Noah Freire) to help cover funeral costs.

Two visitations are planned. The first is at Friscolanti Funeral Chapel at 43 Barton St. E., on Oct. 13 from 2-4 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. The second is at Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King at 714 King St. W. on Oct. 14 from 4-8 p.m. A funeral mass at the cathedral is planned for Oct. 15 at 10 a.m.

Emilia and Noah are survived by their grandparents, and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com