Girl, 9, drowns in busy pool full of adults as child found her 'lying on bottom'
A young girl drowned in a busy pool full of adults and children after her dad's partner looked away for "a moment", with another child making the horrific discovery of her 'lying on the bottom' of the pool.
Ava Rose McCourt, 9, disappeared from sight as she swam in a pool at the Clinton Mobile Home Resort in Tiffin, Ohio, on June 28. Her dad's partner, and soon-to-be wife, Christina Bryant told police the girl could not swim and had been using a pool noodle to float. Ms Bryant told officers she turned away for a brief moment and that when she looked back, Ava was missing.
She started to frantically search before another child found her at the "bottom of the pool in the deep end" resulting in a bystander giving her CPR until emergency services arrived, according to a police report. Ava's dad, Jesse McCourt, had been fishing a the trailer park's lake close to the pool at the time of her disappearance.
Ava was rushed to Mercy Tiffin Hospital where she was pronounced dead upon arrival at the ER. An autopsy will be carried out by the Lucas County Coroner's Office.
Witnesses at the pool said Ava vanished under the water without anyone noticing and had reportedly not splashed or made sounds of distress. One witness claimed it had happened as fast as a person snapping their fingers, MailOnline reported.
Little Ava Rose had been taught how to swim in the days leading up to her death, although she was not able to swim by herself. Officers said the investigation into the death was "over."
In a post thanking people who had donated to their GoFundMe page, Ms Bryan wrote: "Please respect all parties involved. We will have no and I mean no issues over these kind of things. I don't understand how this is our reality right now. We are broken... My fiancé, myself and Ava's bio mom are gonna have some really hard days."
Ava's previous teachers at Krout Elementary School in Tiffin shared their condolences. Lori Harp said: "Ava was such a sweet girl with the biggest heart. She loved giving me hugs at the end of the day and loved telling me stories when I helped with her class in 2nd grade."
Melissa Cimo, her second grade teacher, said: "I absolutely loved being Ava's 2nd grade teacher and she brought so much joy to me."
Little Ava was buried on July 3 following a funeral at Green Springs, Ohio. Her obituary read: "Ava loved life and enjoyed singing, dancing, laughing and giving hugs. She was a very kind girl and loved to spend time with her family and shopping."
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