11-year-old dies trying to save her sister from drowning at pool party, OH family says
An 11-year-old girl, described as being “happiest when helping others,” died trying to save her little sister who fell in the deep end of an Ohio hotel pool, her family said.
Mackenzie Cornell and her 9-year-old sister were attending a pool party June 2 at the Quality Inn in Wheelersburg, the Scioto County Sheriff’s Office said in a June 4 news release.
“Her little sister went into the deep end of the pool and couldn’t swim very well,” Mackenzie’s aunt Helen Cornell told WSAZ.
“Big sister went to save her, and she ultimately died,” her aunt said. “There’s no greater love than giving yourself for your sister.”
The girls were pulled from the pool and CPR was administered immediately, authorities said.
The 9-year-old was resuscitated, but Mackenzie was pronounced dead at a hospital, according to the sheriff’s office.
McClatchy News reached out to the Quality Inn June 5 for comment on the accident but did not immediately hear back.
It is unclear from reports if a lifeguard was there.
Mackenzie was a funny and brilliant “girly girl” who loved shopping and going to Claire’s Boutique, her obituary said.
She loved the outdoors, too, but “most of all, she loved her sister, her cats and dogs,” her family said.
“Every time she’d come into class, she had a smile on her face,” technology teacher Chad Brenner told WSAZ. “She was one of the easy ones to love.”
Wheelersburg is about a 120-mile drive southeast from Cincinnati.
This story was originally published June 5, 2024 at 5:46 PM with the headline "11-year-old dies trying to save her sister from drowning at pool party, OH family says."
