Mother's agony as tug-of-love British schoolgirl, 13, drowns in Texas on day out with father

By Andy Dolan for MailOnline
Updated: 07:38 EDT, 16 July 2008

A British schoolgirl at the centre of a trans-Atlantic custody battle drowned in a lake during a family outing to celebrate American Independence Day.

Shannon Allcock, 13, was apparently knocked off the boogie board she was paddling on by the wake of a passing boat and slipped underwater. Her body was discovered by police a short time later.

Shannon's devastated mother, Antoinette, has told how the teenager had travelled to the States on a three-month visit to see her father, Gavin, more than two years ago.

But the schoolgirl remained with her father and Mrs Allcock had been battling her ex-husband for custody of their daughter ever since.

Picture of Shannon Allcock, 13. Source: Internet grab from CBS news

At the court hearing last week, Mr Allcock - who was born in Lincolnshire but has remarried and lives in Cedar Hill, North Texas - agreed to allow his daughter's remains to be returned to the UK.

Yesterday, Mrs Allcock, 40, of Top Valley, Nottingham, refused to comment further on the tragedy.

But speaking after the court case, she told of her relief that Shannon would finally be coming 'home', even though it was to be buried.

'When I heard it was the first time I had smiled in days', she told a US news channel.

'She was meant to come home. They were supposed to get permission from me if she wanted to stay longer.

'It was really heartbreaking, not knowing if I would ever speak to my daughter again - and now I won't. I just want to bury her in peace.'

Mrs Allcock, who also has a son, Kieron, 19, from a previous relationship, said she had been forced to enlist the help of 'abduction experts' in her desperation to see her daughter again.

Shannon, who had formerly lived with her mother in Nottingham, had been for a picnic to Joe Pool Lake, a popular beauty-spot near Dallas, with her father, his wife Bridgette, and their daughter Jasmine, and friends on July 4.

Her father told US media she had become separated from her boogie board while swimming out into the lake to meet some friends. After she disappeared underwater, one of her friends swam to shore to raise the alarm.  

Mr Allsop said he believed his daughter lost her board after being hit by the wake of a motor boat.

Police were called and found the teen after a 30-minute search around 75ft from shore - in just 6ft of water. Shannon was pronounced dead later that night at a local hospital.  

'My daughter was a pretty good swimmer', Mr Allcock said. 'You can't believe someone you take care of your whole life and then they're gone.

'I would rather it be me than her. She had her own life ahead of her. She was so beautiful. The light inside her shined. … She would share that with everyone around her.'

Mr Allcock is believed to have moved to the US in summer 2006, with Shannon following him in the November.

He was too upset to comment yesterday, but speaking to an American TV station in the days after the accident, Mr Allcock insisted Shannon had obtained a Permanent Resident Card to remain in the US after he and her mother agreed she should stay.

He claimed: 'That was actually Shannon's decision. Every time Shannon spoke to her mother her mother would say nasty things to her.'

The schoolgirl sang soprano with her school choir and had aspirations of becoming a singer.

After the US court hearing last week,  both parents agreed that Shannon would be buried in the UK with a gravestone bearing the names of both her mother and father.