Florida father’s 1-year-old daughter drowns in canal after he falls asleep for hours: Police

A father is accused of manslaughter after he fell asleep and his 1-year-old daughter drowned in a canal behind his girlfriend’s Florida home.

On the morning of June 13, Tracy Potter was walking in Navarre Beach with his little girl “when he became dizzy and short of breath,” according to an arrest report obtained by WEAR-TV.

Potter allegedly sat on a bench and fell asleep. His child was last seen alive around 8:25 a.m. when a woman shot video of the 29-year-old dad carrying the toddler, the arrest report states.

A Santa Rosa County deputy woke Potter up, and he continued walking to his girlfriend’s house — reportedly without his daughter — where he again fell asleep, this time at a picnic table. His girlfriend woke him up around 1 p.m.

The arrest report states Potter went inside and slept on her couch until around 7 p.m. and when he woke up he realized his daughter was gone. Potter’s girlfriend then called authorities to report the baby missing around 15 minutes later.

Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson said paddleboarders discovered the little girl’s body around 8:30 p.m., WEAR-TV reported.

Potter was booked into Santa Rosa County Jail on June 14. He faces charges of negligent manslaughter of a child.

He also had pending charges of counterfeit meth with intent to sell and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in Liberty County, Florida, and was on probation at the time, Sheriff Johnson said.