Double Tree hotel death: Missing girl found in pipe in pool area, police say
HOUSTON - Houston police say an 8-year-old girl who was reported missing after swimming in a hotel pool was found dead several hours later in a pipe.
"To even imagine her body could get in a pipe that size, something had to go terribly wrong," said Tim Miller, the founder of Texas EquuSearch who assisted in finding the little girl.
Authorities say the apparent drowning occurred at the DoubleTree hotel at 12801 Northwest Freeway on Saturday.
Police say Aliyah Lynette Jaico had been swimming in a lazy river-style swimming pool at the hotel with her family. Around 5:45 p.m., she was reported missing and police responded to the scene.
According to police, Jaico was found around 11:30 p.m. inside a large pipe in the pool area and pronounced dead by paramedics. Search and rescue teams had to use long poles with cameras attached to find her body.
"The size of her body, it would have been nearly impossible for her to intentionally swim in that pipe because when I say she was logged in there tight, she was logged in there tight," said Miller.
Jaico's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the hotel property on Monday claiming gross negligence against the hotel property.
The lawsuit was filed hours after a recent Health Department inspection showed some critical problems.
According to Porfirio Villarreal with the HHD, "There were some drains, there was no documentation on the function of them. We're looking into why they didn't have documentation. Why they were there."
The department also stated the enclosures were not tall enough and the gate was not self-latching.
The young girl's family says, "She was a very energetic little girl who loved swimming, being outdoors, loved animals, was a gamer, loved Roblox, and was a girl who touched your heart with her kindness. Everyone who met her loved her."
The Houston Health Department stated they closed the pool on Monday and department inspectors will return on or before April 8, depending on the pool operator correcting the violations.
Houston police investigate a reported drowning at a hotel along the Northwest Freeway.
Over the weekend, police said they were investigating the incident as a drowning, but an autopsy is being conducted to determine her cause of death.
The investigation into the tragic incident continues.