On Sunday evening, just after 6 pm, authorities were alerted to a possible drowning call at the Quality Inn.
Porter Township Fire and EMS were dispatched. They were advised that 2 people were undergoing CPR at the poolside. Scioto County Sherriff’s Department also responded, and another ambulance was requested.
Early reports suggest that one child was resuscitated on site, and the other child sadly passed away. As we currently understand the situation, this was a birthday pool party.
We do not know how many children were in attendance or how well they were supervised by adults.
Scioto County Sheriff Thoroughman told SCDN that the case is still under investigation. He indicated that he should be able to respond to our questions on Tuesday.
After several requests from other media outlets who saw our breaking coverage, Sheriff Thoroughman verified 2 things so all news outlets had the same information.
He verified the incident did occur at the Quality Inn in Wheelersburg. Next, he identified the victim as MacKenzie Cornell, age 11.
SCDN still has questions on the table with the Sherriff’s Department, and we will update this article when we receive more answers.
In addition, we have contacted the hotel for an official response.
As more definitive information becomes available, we will update this article.