By Alex Crowe
Luka Huddle loved to go on horse rides around the farm with his mum.
“He was an absolute adventurous little boy,” said the toddler’s mother, Karin Huddle.
Luka Huddle with his mum, Karin, and grandmother, Sharon. The toddler drowned in a dam near Geelong.Credit: Go Fund Me
On Tuesday afternoon, the two-year-old was helping Karin put rugs on their horses in Lara near Geelong when he wandered off – following his puppy, Poppy – to a neighbouring property.
When night fell and there was no sign of Luka, his family called police.
Police found the toddler unresponsive in a nearby dam following a helicopter search of the surrounding area. Officers were unable to revive him and he died early on Tuesday evening.
Karin said her little boy – an only child – had brought love and joy to his large extended family.
She said he loved singing Cocomelon nursery rhymes, especially Wheels on the Bus.
“Luka was such a beautiful bright, bubbly and cheeky little boy who absolutely loved the outdoors,” Karin said. “He loved his puppies and his horses and the other animals on the farm, and he especially loved to go on horse rides with mum around the paddock.”
The single mum and Luka had recently moved from Hoppers Crossing to the rural property, about 45 minutes from Melbourne.
“He was so excited with all this room to run and roam ... we tried to give him as much as we could,” she said.
Luka with his mum, Karin.
“He was a cheeky, mischievous, adventurous, he was absolutely loving, he had the biggest smile always on his face.”
Karin said she became concerned that her son may have entered the dam on Tuesday when his puppy was found with wet fur.
Luka’s grandma, Sharon Huddle, who was there when police found him unresponsive, had taken him for swimming lessons every Sunday.
“He wasn’t afraid of the water, but he was normally so water safe,” Karin said.
Luka Huddle, 2, died after going missing from a property near Geelong on Tuesday.Credit: Go Fund Me
“He touched the hearts of everyone he ever met and would make his great grandma light up whenever he visited her. He has a big extended family who all love him so very much.”
Sharon said she had called her grandson the “horse whisperer” because he had loved animals and was so good with the horses. “I really can’t believe my little buddy’s gone. We’re inseparable. We used to go everywhere together,” she said.
Karin’s cousin, Erin Kester, who has organised a fundraiser for the family, said Luka was “in the arms of the angels”.
“Our hearts are breaking at the sudden shock of this event and the passing of dear beautiful cheeky little Luka,” she said.
Police are investigating the incident and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
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