Father Of Drowned Girls Regrets Not Being There

PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) — The father of two little girls who drowned in the pool at their mobile home park, along with their babysitter, said he regrets not being there for his children.

Felipe Gandarilla is in jail in Tucson on a drug charge. He hadn't seen his girls since his arrest two months ago.

Azucena Gandarilla, 3, her sister Amaya, 6, and their baby sitter, Joo Hyun Lee, 17, drowned Aug. 8 in the swimming pool at the Pueblo Grande Village mobile home complex.

LINK: Family GoFundMe Page

Pueblo County Coroner Brian Cotter said the deaths were accidents and no signs of trauma were found.

Gandarilla said he regrets his actions that separated him from his family.

"They mean everything. They're my breath and my eyes, both of them," said Gandarilla. "To clean up and just stop doing it. It blinds you from your family, from anybody because when you do drugs, you harm not just yourself. You harm your kids and wife, too."

The girls' mother had just moved to Pueblo from Tucson for a job. Services for the girls was scheduled for Monday.