8-year-old girl found dead in hotel pool’s pipe

[QChawks]

HOUSTON (KTRK) – On Saturday, an 8-year-old girl drowned after she was sucked into a pipe while she was swimming in a hotel pool.

It happened at the DoubleTree Hotel on the city’s northwest side.

The girl was initially reported missing, but after a search crew reviewed security footage, they found she went underwater and did not resurface.

That’s when they drained the pool and sent a camera almost 20 feet into one of the pool’s pipes.

“(It) appears right now the pump was put in there, and it was probably malfunctioning because of the open pipe that she ended up in was supposed to be pushing water out,” said Tim Miller, founder of Texas EquuSearch. “And right beside that pipe, there was another pipe that actually had a big plastic filter like screen on the front that’s supposed to be sucking water in. So I know there was one speculation last night from somebody that knows quite a bit and everything that that the pump was wired wrong. So it was sucking instead of pushing.”

The search crew said it took about 13 hours to recover the girl’s body.

An investigation is underway. The pool is temporarily closed.

 

[Nole-4-Life]

 

[Old_wrestling_fan]

OMG, that is horrible. Sympathies to the family. It is hard to imagine though why any underwater pipe that diameter would not have had a screen on it though, even if it was supposed to be ejecting water. Something that diameter could still trap a foot, arm, etc,

 

[HROT]

OMG, that is horrible. Sympathies to the family. It is hard to imagine though why any underwater pipe that diameter would not have had a screen on it though, even if it was supposed to be ejecting water. Something that diameter could still trap a foot, arm, etc,

The screen gets dislodged. Happens a fair amount.

You hear stories about other swimmers trying to free victims unsuccessfully. That would be a horrible feeling

 

[theiacowtipper]

OMG, that is horrible. Sympathies to the family. It is hard to imagine though why any underwater pipe that diameter would not have had a screen on it though, even if it was supposed to be ejecting water. Something that diameter could still trap a foot, arm, etc,

It sounds like it was supposed to be outflow. If it were intake, even a screen wouldn’t help really. You could get pinned against the screen.

 

[mnole03]

It sounds like it was supposed to be outflow. If it were intake, even a screen wouldn’t help really. You could get pinned against the screen.

If the pump is strong enough it could disembowel you. That used to happen every so often.

 

[Old_wrestling_fan]

It sounds like it was supposed to be outflow. If it were intake, even a screen wouldn’t help really. You could get pinned against the screen.

OK, I am not a pool expert, but any apparatus that has this ^^ type of potential would seem to be a very poor design, no?

 

[tarheelbybirth]

How does an 8-year-old go swimming without adult supervision? They had to review security footage?!?!?!

 

[Rifler]

Doesn't sound right,.. Most pool pumps are centrifugal, and while a centrifugal pump can certainly be incorrectly wired to run backwards, that doesn't mean that the end result is a reverse fluid flow,.. Most centrifugal pumps running backwards will still move fluid in the correct direction, just not as efficiently...

 

[alaskanseminole]

How does an 8-year-old go swimming without adult supervision? They had to review security footage?!?!?!

So many thoughts.

• Where were the parents
• Horrible way for the child to have suffered and died
• Regardless of the lack of adult supervision, this lawsuit will likely be huge (won't replace the child, though).

 

[TJ8869]

The pool is temporarily closed.

No shit?

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

I hate these stories about kids. Man

 

[jasonrann]

My daughter turned eight yesterday. Pretty sure that would be it for me if something moronic like this happened.

 

[tarheelbybirth]

So many thoughts.

• Where were the parents
• Horrible way for the child to have suffered and died
• Regardless of the lack of adult supervision, this lawsuit will likely be huge (won't replace the child, though).

The lawsuit will be enormous. Need to wait to hear all the facts obviously but if the parents allowed her to go to a hotel swimming pool unsupervised, the judgment should go to some charity.

 

[alaskanseminole]

The pool is temporarily closed.

No shit?

insert #geeyathink gif.

 

[Jimmy McGill]

I can't believe some of you haven't heard of this. It has happened many times.

 

[theiacowtipper]

If the pump is strong enough it could disembowel you. That used to happen every so often.

I can agree with this but I can’t bring myself to giving a like. No post with the word disembowel gets a like from me. Lol

 

[millah_22]

man, this is sad.

 

[TarponSpringsNole]

My daughter turned eight yesterday. Pretty sure that would be it for me if something moronic like this happened.

It’s utterly tragic. My parents and my family survived after a football goal post my 11 year old little brother was on broke (kids were trying to shake him off) and fell on him killing him instantly.
There’s always a resilience to live.

 

[Rifler]

It’s utterly tragic. My parents and my family survived after a football goal post my 11 year old little brother was on broke (kids were trying to shake him off) and fell on him killing him instantly.
There’s always a resilience to live.

Sorry for this tragic loss...

 

[BrianNole777]

So many thoughts.

• Where were the parents
• Horrible way for the child to have suffered and died
• Regardless of the lack of adult supervision, this lawsuit will likely be huge (won't replace the child, though).

The parents were probably on their phones.

I worked for a pool company one summer in college and once a kid snuck in at night and drowned in the pool.

 

[EagleHawk]

Are the parents relatives/friends of these folks from last week:

 

[Old_wrestling_fan]

How does an 8-year-old go swimming without adult supervision? They had to review security footage?!?!?!

I don't think it is clear that the parents weren't there, although it also isn't clear that they were. But I think it is a plausible scenario that the parent(s) were there, poolside and after a bit realized that they couldn't see their child.

Then the "search" ensued...which if she was sucked out of sight into an underwater pipe would be quite puzzling to everyone there at the time.

I am truly gobsmacked that this may not be a one-off situation due to the design/construction of pools. Who knew? Good God, I can't imagine the horror. How is this even a thing?

 

[noleclone2]

So many thoughts.

• Where were the parents
• Horrible way for the child to have suffered and died
• Regardless of the lack of adult supervision, this lawsuit will likely be huge (won't replace the child, though).

I don’t think an adult there would have changed the outcome, sadly.

 

[TJ8869]

I don’t understand why the pump intake pipe is even large enough that a child can get pulled into it. That seems like a wildly irresponsible design flaw.

 

[Rifler]

I don’t understand why the pump intake pipe is even large enough that a child can get pulled into it. That seems like a wildly irresponsible design flaw.

It's not,.. now stop and think about what that means.

 

[TJ8869]

It's not,.. now stop and think about what that means.

Even if the pump was running backward, a simple check valve in the circuit would prevent water from flowing the wrong direction. It makes no sense to me that a swimming pool built in the 21st century would be capable of trapping an 8-year-old child like this.

 

[Rifler]

Even if the pump was running backward, a simple check valve in the circuit would prevent water from flowing the wrong direction. It makes no sense to me that a swimming pool built in the 21st century would be capable of trapping an 8-year-old child like this.

Like I said earlier, I seriously doubt that this was related to the pump running backwards,.. I think it's more likely to have been a failure or improper installation of the protective screen required at the suction inlet...

 

[stickman80]

If the pump is strong enough it could disembowel you. That used to happen every so often.

That sucks!

 

[McLovin32]

Back in the 90's when I was a kid I remember watching the show Rescue 911 on TV. One of the re-enactments on an episode was a little kid jumping into a pool, and getting sucked down onto one of the pool drains because it was malfunctioning. One of the life guards had to jump in and save the kid.

Anyways, for most of my childhood I would try my best to avoid those damn things when I was swimming. Always knew the chances of something actually happening were incredibly slim, but I just never risked it. It's one of those random things you watch as a child and just never forget/csb

 

[Hoosierhawkeye]

I don't know much about pools but since when do pools have pipes so big that an 8 year old could be sucked 20 feet into one?

 

[jasonrann]

It’s utterly tragic. My parents and my family survived after a football goal post my 11 year old little brother was on broke (kids were trying to shake him off) and fell on him killing him instantly.
There’s always a resilience to live.

Holy sh!t, so sorry to hear this. What an awful tragedy for you and your family. I think back to all of the similar things my little brother and all of us did and it could easily have happened. I am glad you all found the strength to persevere.

 

[BelemNole]

Having our pool replastered this spring. Have to have the drain replaced (to meet code) with two smaller ones because of issues similar to this.