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Caleb and Ezekiel Marcengill, 3-year-old twins, drowned in an above-ground pool at a party.(Photo: Marcengill family, Submitted photo)
ANDERSON, S.C. — Caleb and Ezekiel Marcengill, 3-year-old twins who drowned this past weekend, loved Bible verses and songs.
"They would play David and Goliath," said Brandon Marcengill, the boys' father. "One would be David one time, and they'd switch and the other would be David."
The Westminster, S.C.,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>brothers had been swimming before — always using flotation devices — at pools and beaches, Brandon Marcengill said. But the twins somehow snuck into a gated pool Saturday afternoon at a party in a family friend's backyard, said Don McCown, a deputy Anderson County coroner.
The boys likely went under a gap in the fencing around the pool but also could have climbed over the fencing, McCown said.
Another child at the party, which happened at the home of a man who worked with Brandon Marcengill, discovered them underwater after she was given a key to the locked gate, McCown said.
The deputy coroner estimated the boys had been underwater for about 15 minutes.
Brandon Marcengill and one of the homeowners attempted CPR, the coroner said.
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The above-ground pool got as deep as about 4 feet in parts, and the water in the area where the boys were found was about 3 feet 8 inches, McCown said.
Caleb was declared dead Saturday. Ezekiel was on life support until Sunday afternoon.
A family friend has started a fundraising page<span style="color: Red;">*</span>asking for donations to help pay for funeral and medical costs.
"The family rejoices at the gift of the lives of these two boys for their three short years and at the thought of them skipping together down streets of gold in Heaven, even as they break at the loss of them," according to the post by Crystal Gibson on the website GoFundMe.
As of Tuesday morning, the site had raised $13,834 toward a $20,000 goal.
The older sister of 3-year-old twin brothers found the boys submerged June 18, 2016, in this pool near Easley, S.C., while their family was at a social gathering.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Anderson (S.C.) Independent-Mail)
Brandon Marcengill said he was grateful for the support from his friend and for the kind words and support from strangers.
He said other comments posted online have been hurtful.
"I don't know that there was anything else I could have done," Marcengill said. "A parent tries to protect their children as best as they can every day. But we can't be there every second."
Faith has been the family's crutch in the wake of the deaths, he said.
"That's all we've been going on," he said.
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The boys had a favorite Bible verse, Psalm 100: "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs."
Marcengill urged people who want to help his family can support the Christian organization Focus on the Family and local Christian radio station HIS Radio FM 89.3.
A funeral for the boys will take place Wednesday.
Follow Mike Ellis on Twitter: @MikeEllis_AIM
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