Marcus Anthony Hall, 2, drowns in neighbor’s above-ground pool after wandering outside while mom was sleeping

An Ohio family is mourning the loss of their two-year-old after the boy snuck away while his mother slept and drowned in a neighbor’s pool.

According to police officers, the boy left the house while his mother was sleeping on October 4. He was later found at the bottom of his neighbour’s swimming pool and taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police were called to the area just an hour before the boy was found for an unattended child. They told the boy’s mother to be more careful.

The grieving father said he will remember Marcus Anthony Hall – also known as Mar Mar – by his smile.

“He was a nice guy,” the child’s father, Anthony Hall, said of his two-year-old son, who just had a birthday in July.

Two-year-old Marcus Anthony Hall and his older brother wandered out of their home on October 4 while their mother slept

A neighbor called 911 when she saw one of the children brought home. The mother called police an hour later to say she couldn’t find Marcus – who was drowning in the neighbour’s pool

Oregon Police Chief Brian Begin said an officer jumped into the pool, handed the child to another officer and performed CPR as they rushed to the hospital — but Marcus later died

Hall was at work on Tuesday while Marcus and his four-year-old brother were home alone with their mother.

He said the children went outside their home in Oregon, Ohio, while their mother was sleeping.

At 10:34 a.m., a neighbor spotted one of the boys and called 911, telling dispatchers, “There’s a baby outside in a diaper chasing a dog. There are no adults.’

An officer arrived and told the mother to be more careful. He recommended that she consider installing safety devices.

At 11:27 a.m. — less than an hour later — Oregon police received a second call from the mother.

“I woke up to the police here knocking on my door because they said there were kids running around outside, so when I woke up, only my 4-year-old was here,” she said.

‘So your two year old is missing? asks the sender.

“Yes,” answered the woman.

Officers returned to the scene and found the two-year-old drowned in the neighbor’s pool.

The boy’s father, Anthony Hall, described Marcus – nicknamed ‘Mar Mar’ – as ‘a cool little guy’

Police said Child Services is currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the boy’s death

“It doesn’t help that I have to wake up every morning and see the neighbor’s pool where it happened,” the boy’s father posted on Facebook. ‘Still with a ladder in it’

Police Chief Brandon Begin says an officer jumped in the water, handed the child to another officer and performed CPR as they rushed to the hospital.

Marcus drowned in a white above ground pool with a small ladder. While the yard was fenced, the pool itself did not have a fence around it.

A complaint was filed with the city, as Ohio state law requires every private pool to be enclosed by a fence. It is currently unclear whether charges have been filed against the mother or the neighbor to date.

Children’s services are investigating the circumstances surrounding the boy’s death, police said.

A funeral service has been arranged for October 10.

Hall created a GoFundMe seeking help with expenses. “I don’t know how to explain it, but I’ll try the best way,” he wrote. So far, the campaign has raised $1,840 of its $2,500 goal.

“My name is Anthony Hall, Marcus’ father,” the page read. “I just want my baby to rest, I can’t imagine what was going through his mind during all of this.”

Hall also posted on Facebook thanking those who donated and supported the family through the tragedy.

He said that he broke down every time he saw a picture of his son.

“It doesn’t help that I have to wake up every morning and see the neighbor’s pool where it happened,” Hall wrote. “Still with a ladder in it.”