2 adults charged after 13-year-old Washington County girl drowns in West Virginia
Two adults are facing charges after a 13-year-old Washington County girl drowned while swimming in the Ohio River in West Virginia.
Ashley Shelton, 29, and Joshua Lockerbie, 34, of Weirton have been arrested and charged with one felony count of child neglect causing death and five felony counts of gross neglect of a child creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury, Weirton police announced.
On June 30, police said Shelton and Lockerbie took six kids ranging in age from 4 to 13 to the Ohio River to swim near the Veterans Memorial Bridge. Police said there were no flotation devices, and both Shelton and Lockerbie knew that none of the children were strong swimmers.
Heavy rain throughout the day made the water levels high, and police said 13-year-old Reese Hanshaw of Burgettstown drowned after she was swept away by the current.
"One of our officers swam out to retrieve her from the water, then they performed life-saving measures on the shore and ended up getting her to the hospital where she shortly later succumbed," Weirton Police Chief Charlie Kush said.
While boats are common in the area, Kush said it's less common to see people swimming or fishing, especially in those conditions. Kush said it was raining while the children were swimming.
"You have to be responsible, you have to know the limitations of the people that you're with if you are letting juveniles do these types of things," Kush said.
Kush said he believes the tragedy could have easily been much worse.
"To me, it was just unusual to go down there and swim in these conditions," he said.
Both Shelton and Lockerbie were arrested on Wednesday, arraigned and given a $150,000 bond. Both of them were incarcerated at the Northern Regional Jail in Moundsville.
, nearly 900 children and adolescents ages 0-19 die every year in the United States from unintentional drowning. For children ages 5-19, the network says drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury deaths.