Girl, 9, drowns in busy swimming pool filled with adults and children while receiving swimming lessons
Ava Rose McCourt, 9, vanished from view in the pool of the Clinton Mobile Home Resort in Tiffin, Ohio, on June 28.
Her soon-to-be-stepmother Christina Bryant told police the little girl, who couldn't swim but was taking lessons, was floating on a pool noodle.
Bryant said she turned her head away for a brief moment and when she looked back, Ava was gone and everyone in the pool began frantically searching.
Another child found her 'lying on the bottom of the pool in the deep end' and a bystander gave her CPR until paramedics arrived, the police report read.
Ava's father, Jesse McCourt, was fishing in the trailer park's lake that was next to the pool when his daughter disappeared.
The girl was rushed to Mercy Tiffin Hospital and pronounced dead after arriving at the ER. The Lucas County Coroner's Office will conduct an autopsy.
Witnesses told police Ava disappeared under the water in an instant without anyone noticing, or with any splashing or sounds of distress.
One said it was as fast as you could snap your fingers - one minute she was there, the she was gone.
Bryant told police she started teaching Ava to swim several days before she drowned, but she wasn't yet able to swim on her own.
Police said 'the investigation is over' and no charges would be filed.
McCourt and Ava's mother Kinsey divorced and he asked Bryant to marry him on November 15 last year. All three promised to help each other deal with Ava's death.
'Please respect all parties involved. We will have no and I mean no issues over these kinds of things,' Bryant wrote online while thanking GoFundMe donors.
Another child found her 'lying on the bottom of the pool in the deep end' during a frantic search and a bystander gave her CPR until paramedics arrived
'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.'
McCourt said he was getting through life 'one minute at a time'.
Ava's first and second grade teachers at Krout Elementary School in Tiffin both left their condolences after hearing of her death.
'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,' Lori Harp wrote.
'She will be missed by so many, especially the staff at Krout.'
Her second grade teacher Melissa Cimo added: 'I absolutely loved being Ava's 2nd grade teacher and she brought so much joy to me.'
Ava's first devastated grade teacher Erin Bigly said the little girl's death was 'incredibly heartbreaking'.
'She brought so much joy and love to our room. She was such a free spirit and I loved every minute being with her,' she wrote.
School librarian Lisa Stover added that Ava loved the Dog Man children's book series.
Ava was buried on July 3 after a funeral in Green Springs, Ohio.
'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,' her obituary read.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
44 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
City manager filmed trying to fire cop after being pulled over for speeding
An angry Oklahoma lawmaker was filmed trying to fire a police officer after being pulled over for speeding. Konawa City Manager Daniel Bruton launched into a tirade after he was stopped by a local police officer on July 14 for racing his truck down the road. The bodycam footage showed the officer, only identified as Johnathan, pulling up behind Bruton's car as he stood on the road and screamed: 'I'm trying to get the water back on.' SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Bruton, 52, later revealed he was on his way to a water emergency in the city, but the officer continued with the traffic stop. 'OK, but let's slow down. Let's do it safely,' the officer told Bruton. 'This is my job, this is what I was hired to do.' 'Well, this is my job and I'm your boss! And I'm in a hurry,' Bruton replied. 'It doesn't matter, you have to obey the law like everybody else,' the officer said as Bruton went threatened him: 'You're about to not have a job.' He then got back in his truck and continued to scream at the officer. 'Now, go get your a** back in the truck and go back to town,' he said, still pointing his finger at the officer. 'I'm trying to be respectful here,' the cop said as Bruton cut him off and shouted: 'I'm not being respectful!' After his outburst, the officer let Bruton leave - but that was not the last he saw of the city manager. Bruton found the officer back at the station, where he continued to tell the cop off. Further body cam footage showed Bruton in the doorway of the police station continuing to complain and threaten the officer. 'So, when these firemen and police officers are in a hurry to get somewhere - they're speeding. I was in a hurry to get somewhere,' Bruton said, adding: 'So, let me tell you something. When I got out of the truck and told you there was a water emergency, that's when you should've ended it.' The officer responded: 'OK, not gonna end it right there. Listen to me, just because you're city manager...' Bruton responded: 'I'm not saying that. I had a water emergency, OK? I promise you. me driving 35mph up a 25mph road is not that big a deal to me when the people in Konawa don't have no water. 'I'll explain this to you and I'll explain this to Bryan. If you have a problem with that, then you might as well pack your s*** and head out the door right now.' 'Listen to me,' the officer said before Bruton shouted: 'I'm not gonna listen to you! I'm your boss! You do what I say.' 'It doesn't matter, you can't break the law like that,' the cop responded. 'People break the law! If you got a problem with it then write me a f***ing ticket and then I'll deal with you in there,' Bruton went on. The city manager then called someone to inform him he was going to fire the cop 'right now', adding that the officer 'still continued to run his mouth with me'. The video ended with Bruton storming off after the officer said 'we're done'. Bruton later told News4 he was 'ashamed' and 'embarrassed' of his actions that day. He told the outlet: 'He just caught the brunt of that from a situation that day. I didn't mean anything towards him. He does a good job and I apologized to him, and I'm making a public apology to him now. 'I'm embarrassed by it, I'm ashamed of it. My family, I put them in this and I'm ashamed that the city had to even endure it. So I'm hoping that we can get past it and I can grow from it as well.' Despite his apology, locals are livid with the way Bruton acted that day, with some calling for his resignation. 'He was only embarrassed and ashamed when it was made public we still need a new city manager,' one wrote on Facebook. Another commented: 'It's funny how he's embarrassed now that the whole world can see what an absolute jerk he is. What a pathetic excuse for a human!'
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Sean 'Diddy' Combs denied bail again ahead of sentencing
Why you can trust Sky News Sean "Diddy" Combs has been denied bail ahead of his sentencing on prostitution-related charges. Judge Arun Subramanian said the hip-hop mogul had failed to show sufficient evidence he is not a flight risk and also cited admissions of previous violence made during his trial. Combs, 55, has been in prison since his arrest in September last year. During a two-month trial, jurors heard allegations that he had coerced former girlfriends, including singer and model Cassie Ventura, into having drug-fuelled sex marathons with male sex workers, while he watched and filmed them. In July, he was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution - but cleared of more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking, which carried potential life sentences. The rapper's legal team hailed this a "victory" and immediately applied for bail ahead of sentencing, citing his acquittal on the top charges. After this was denied, they submitted another application last week. Judge Subramanian has now rejected the request again. In denying the motion for bail, the judge found Combs had failed to show sufficient evidence to counter arguments he is a flight risk, writing in a court filing: "Increasing the amount of the bond or devising additional conditions doesn't change the calculus given the circumstances and heavy burden of proof that Combs bears." He also found that an argument by the music star's legal team that the squalor and danger of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), where he is being held, did not warrant release. "The public outcry concerning these conditions has come from all corners," the judge wrote. "But as Combs acknowledges, MDC staff has been able to keep him safe and attend to his needs, even during an incident of threatened violence from an inmate." As well as Combs's bail application, his legal team has also filed a motion calling for him to be acquitted or given a new trial on the prostitution-related charges only. The judge has not yet responded to this application. 4:43 How long could Diddy be jailed for? Combs is due to be sentenced on 3 October and could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. Discussions on sentencing guidelines which followed the jury's verdict suggest it is unlikely he will be jailed for this long, with an estimate of around two to five years, taking into account time already served. However, it is ultimately up to Judge Arun Subramanian to decide the rapper's punishment. On Friday, Donald Trump was asked during an interview about a potential pardon for Combs following speculation about the issue. The president said it was unlikely, adding that the rapper was "very hostile" during his presidential campaign. Combs, who co-founded Bad Boy Records and launched the career of the late Notorious BIG, was for decades a huge figure in pop culture - a Grammy-winning hip-hop artist and business entrepreneur, who presided over an empire ranging from fashion to reality TV.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Two killed and six wounded in mass shooting at LA music festival afterparty
Two people were killed and six others were wounded in a mass shooting at a music festival afterparty in downtown Los Angeles early on Monday, officials said. Police first responded around 11pm on Sunday evening to shut down a 'big party' after officers saw a person possibly armed with a gun go inside a building in the city's warehouse district, Los Angeles police department spokesperson Norma Eisenman told the Associated Press. That person was arrested at the scene, she said. The event was billed on social media as an unofficial afterparty for Hard Summer, a weekend festival for house and techno music that took place in Hollywood Park by SoFi stadium, which is located in Inglewood in south LA, the Los Angeles Times reported. LAPD received reports of shots fired at the afterparty around 1am on Sunday, after officers had cleared the area. When police returned, they found one person had died and learned multiple people had been hit by bullets, Eisenman said. One man died at the scene and a woman died at a hospital, the spokesperson said. Six people were taken to hospitals in unknown condition, she said. A man told KABC-TV that his 29-year-old son was one of the two people killed. There was no information about a suspect or a motive. Investigators remained at the scene for hours. Sign up to Headlines US Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, condemned the shooting in a social media post, saying: 'This senseless violence and loss of life is devastating and those who are responsible must be held accountable. There will be no tolerance for violence in this city. My thoughts are with the victims and their families.' Bass said the investigation was ongoing and gang interventionists were 'providing support for families and continuing the everyday work of keeping our neighborhoods safe'. Interventionists function as social workers and mediators who work within communities to resolve conflict and prevent violence. One attendee at the party, who declined to give their name, told the LA Times that it sounded as if '100 shots' had been fired, and said people scrambled onto the street in a stampede. The LA violence happened two days after four people were killed in a shooting at a bar in Montana, which was the ninth mass shooting of the year so far, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a non-partisan group. A gunman also killed four people in Manhattan in an incident that shook New York city last month, and multiple shootings broke out across the country on the Fourth of July holiday.
