ODNR investigates drowning of 4-year-old at Cowan Lake
By
Brandy Chandler-brandychandler@gmail.com
WILMINGTON — The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is investigating the drowning of a 4-year-old girl at Cowan Lake State Park Friday, the department said.
"The family had come to the beach to celebrate her brother's birthday," said Tim Carr, regional park manager. "The family and maybe a couple other groups of people, it is not totally clear, had gone to the beach. It was around 7:30 p.m. in the evening."
Carr said that the victim and her sibling were in the water with the parents, "when the mother and the older child came out of the water, and the father remained in the water with the victim. At some point, he lost visual contact with her, and he assumed she had gone to shore. The mother thought that she was still in the water."
When the family realized the victim wasn't in sight, they looked for her in the restroom area, in the parking lot, in a grassy area, and "when they returned to the water they saw her body floating in the water. They removed her and began CPR, and called 911."
The victim, Skyla Smith, was later transported to Clinton Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, and her body was turned over to the Clinton County Coroner's Office, Carr said.
Carr said the incident remains under investigation while the autopsy is pending, but he all indicators show it was an accident.
"There are no charges anticipated," Carr said. "Her lungs were full of water, but we don't know how long she was under, so we don't have a timeline. The autopsy will determine the official cause of death, which we believe to be drowning. No one did anything wrong. It was just one of those accidents that happen."
Carr said that with only a few exceptions, "At most of our state parks, we haven't had lifeguards for six or seven years."[[In-content Ad]]
"The family had come to the beach to celebrate her brother's birthday," said Tim Carr, regional park manager. "The family and maybe a couple other groups of people, it is not totally clear, had gone to the beach. It was around 7:30 p.m. in the evening."
Carr said that the victim and her sibling were in the water with the parents, "when the mother and the older child came out of the water, and the father remained in the water with the victim. At some point, he lost visual contact with her, and he assumed she had gone to shore. The mother thought that she was still in the water."
When the family realized the victim wasn't in sight, they looked for her in the restroom area, in the parking lot, in a grassy area, and "when they returned to the water they saw her body floating in the water. They removed her and began CPR, and called 911."
The victim, Skyla Smith, was later transported to Clinton Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, and her body was turned over to the Clinton County Coroner's Office, Carr said.
Carr said the incident remains under investigation while the autopsy is pending, but he all indicators show it was an accident.
"There are no charges anticipated," Carr said. "Her lungs were full of water, but we don't know how long she was under, so we don't have a timeline. The autopsy will determine the official cause of death, which we believe to be drowning. No one did anything wrong. It was just one of those accidents that happen."
Carr said that with only a few exceptions, "At most of our state parks, we haven't had lifeguards for six or seven years."[[In-content Ad]]