Mother charged after 5-year-old left alone at pool drowns, Mississippi cops say
A Louisiana mother faces a charge of felony child neglect after police say she left her daughter unattended at a swimming pool at a campground in Mississippi., media outlets report.
The 5-year-old girl was later found unresponsive at the bottom of the pool, police in Pelahatchie, Mississippi said.
Sky Frith, 24, of Lake Providence, Louisiana, was arrested and jailed Thursday on one count of felony child neglect, Pelahatchie Police Chief Joseph Daughtry told WAPT. Frith’s boyfriend, Antron King, 21, faces the same charge as Frith, police said.
Authorities identified the little girl as Angel Frith.
Emergency responders arrived at Yogi Bear Jellystone Park, which features cabins, miniature golf and kiddie pools, around 3 p.m. after a camp staffer found the girl underwater and unresponsive, Daughtry said, according to WJTV. Local police, with the help of Rankin County deputies and paramedics, tried to revive the 5-year-old.
“When they arrived on scene they started chest compressions and CPR immediately on the child,” Daughtry told WJTV. “There was also a nurse that was there visiting her family that started as well.”
The child was taken to Merit Health Rankin, where she was pronounced dead, WLBT reported.
Daughtry described the rescue as an emotional one for everyone on scene.
“She’s just a beautiful little girl and it broke a lot of officers,” the police chief said, WJTV reported. “Fireman, paramedics, it broke a lot of hearts today.”
Police said Frith and King left the child and her 7-year-old sibling alone at the pool and walked back to their car, according to WAPT.
A spokesman for Yogi Bear Jellystone Park addressed the incident in a statement to WAPT.
“Safety is always our priority and we are cooperating with the local authorities as they work to determine what happened,” the statement read in part. “We want to thank the many first responders for their fast and professional response and actions. The entire Jellystone Park family extends our deepest sympathies to the family and to everyone affected by this tragic event.”