Alpine skiing champion Bode Miller with his daughter Emeline. Photo / via Instagram
Alpine skiing champion Bode Miller with his daughter Emeline. Photo / via Instagram
The infant daughter of former Olympian Bode Miller has died in a tragic pool accident.
Bode and his wife, Morgan, who is currently pregnant, were attending a neighbour's party on Sunday (US time) 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, TMZ reports.
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.
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. She is currently pregnant with their third child.
Hundreds of fans and wellwishers have taken to Twitter to pay their condolences to the family - including fellow Olympic skiers Lindsey Vvonn and Julia Mancuso.
"Devastating news. My deepest condolences to you and your family," Vonn tweeted.
"Thoughts and prayers to the Miller family. @MillerBode @MorganEBeck ❤️�� tragic news that you never want to hear. Sending love," added Mancuso.
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 honour 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.
Paramedics were unable to revive Eveline, and she later died in hospital. Photo / via Instagram
At seven months pregnant, Sara moved from California to New York to attend Columbia University on the G.I. Bill, while he married Morgan.
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 for Cosmopolitan.
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 finalised 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.
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.
"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.
