A three-year-old Kinmundy girl has drowned in an above-ground pool at an aunt and uncle’s home in rural Odin.
Marion County Coroner Claude Howell identifies the girl as Alaina McElroy, the daughter of Russell McElroy and Dawn Helton of Kinmundy.
The girl was staying with her aunt and uncle on Soper Road in rural Odin while her mother had gone to Nebraska to pick up the girl’s father. Another young person at the residence saw the girl lying in the pool and notified the uncle.
Marion County Sheriff Kevin Cripps says when emergency help arrived, the uncle had the girl out of the pool and was providing CPR. First responders took over the effort. An Air Evac helicopter landed nearby, but was not used since the girl’s condition never stabilized. She was transported by ambulance to SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia. CPR was continued in the ambulance and the emergency room before she was pronounced dead by the coroner.
Howell says an autopsy has been scheduled for Thursday to make sure the girl did not have any other issues that may have led to her death.
