An 11-month-old girl drowned in a backyard pool Friday evening when her father went inside their east Mesa home to answer the phone, authorities said.

Victoria Kravec had been playing with her father and 3-year-old brother in the 9400 block of East Kiva when the phone rang.

Mesa police Sgt. Chuck Trapani said the father estimated he left the children alone for "a short period of time" but returned to find his son pointing down into the water of their unfenced pool.

Victoria's father pulled her from the pool about 5:30 p.m. and called 911. Paramedics attempted to revive the child on scene, but she was pronounced dead at Banner Desert Medical Center.

Mesa police are conducting a death investigation, Trapani added.

Reproduced with permission from: The Arizona Republic By Lindsey Collom ©Copyright 2007 Arizona Republic