An 11-year-old girl drowned Sunday in a hotel pool in Ohio as she tried to save her sister, local authorities reported.
The young girl, Mackenzie Cornell, drowned at a Quality Inn in Wheelsburg after her younger sister had fallen in the pool and Mackenzie attempted to get her out, according to a press release from the Scioto County Sheriff’s Office.
“Mackenzie was unsuccessful and went under the water as well,” the sheriff’s office reported.
An emergency call was made just after 6 pm stating that two children had drowned and “individuals were performing CPR on the children,” according to the sheriff’s office’s original press release. (RELATED: Father Dies Saving Son Who Fell Through Ice, Deputy Saves Mother, Police Say)
11-Year-Old Girl Dead After Trying to Save Sister from Drowning at Ohio Hotel Pool: ‘No Greater Love’ https://t.co/0WBKE3NNhu
— People (@people) June 6, 2024
By the time a rescue crew had arrived with a sheriff’s deputy, Mackenzie’s sister had been resuscitated but emergency crews continued performing CPR on Mackenzie while transporting her to a local hospital where she later was pronounced dead, the sheriff’s office said.
Mackenzie’s aunt, Helen Cornell, spoke to WSAZ New 3 about the accident while she was attending a vigil for Mackenzie at her elementary school on Monday.
“Her little sister went into the deep end of the pool and couldn’t swim very well. Big sister went to save her, and she ultimately died,” she said. “There’s no greater love than giving yourself for your sister.”
Chad Brenner, one of Mackenzie’s teachers, told WSAZ that Mackenzie’s smile was unforgettable.
“Every time she’d come into class, she had a smile on her face,” Brenner said, adding that “she was one of the easy ones to love.”
The family established a GoFundMe campaign page that has thus far raised over $7,500 to help “ease what is already an unbearable time for her grandparents and father” and “to help with her funeral expenses,” according to the fundraiser’s organizer.
