Aliyah Jaico, 8 year old Texas girl drowns at DoubleTree by Hilton Houston Brookhollow swimming pool found to have multiple violations as girl is found dead after being sucked into pipe.
Multiple violations. An 8 year old girl has drowned at a Houston, Texas chain hotel after being sucked into a one-foot-wide pipe while using the swimming pool.
Aliyah Lynette Jaico, eight, vanished Saturday while swimming with her family at the DoubleTree by Hilton Houston Brookhollow on the city’s northwest side. The business is on U.S. Highway 290 about 14 miles from downtown Houston.
Aliyah Jaico was reported missing at 9:45 pm. Search and rescue teams determined that the child went underwater and never resurfaced. The young girl’s body was found wedged in a narrow pipe hours later.
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‘drowning and mechanical asphyxia’
According to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Science, the girl’s preliminary cause of death was ‘drowning and mechanical asphyxia’ and appeared to be an accident.
According to a news release from police, homicide division detectives reported that before the 8 year old girl drowned, the victim had been swimming with other family members in ‘a lazy river style swimming pool‘ at the hotel.
News of the the 8 year old’s tragic death led to the girl’s mother sharing her grief on social media.
Aliyah’s mother, Daniela Jaico, shared a selfie taken at the pool to Facebook, captioning it ‘our last photo.’
‘They say we all have our destiny marked…but I can’t understand why yours was like this,’ Jaico posted.
‘Thank you, my love, for the eight years you gave me by your side. Thank you, my girl, for teaching me what love is and a noble heart.’
13 hours to retrieve girl’s body from pipe that sucked her to her death
Among the first to respond to the scene was Tim Miller, the founder of Texas EquuSearch, a search and rescue nonprofit.
‘We mobilized a lot of people. We had people actually searching outside and in different rooms and everything,’ Miller told ABC13 Houston.
Officers combed the hotel while the nonprofit reviewed security footage alongside the Houston Police Department which showed Aliyah had gone under the water and not resurfacing, KTRK -TV reported.
The pool was drained, and a small remote camera from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice was attached to a pole and sent nearly 20 feet inside the pipes.
Equipped with the camera and a scent tracking bloodhound, rescuers made the macabre discovery around 11:30 pm.
The girl’s ‘little hand and part of her body’ were the first to appear, having been ‘wedged’ deep inside the pipe, Miller said.
He explained that the pipe had malfunctioned and was sucking water in rather than pumping it out.
Responders from the Houston Fire Department retrieved Aliyah’s body. The effort took around 13 hours.
Mutliple violations
A damning inspection report on Monday from Houston Health Department identified multiple violations.
‘Main drain document was provided and still valid. However small pool has 32-inch channel drains on the walls, without a valid document stating their function, date of installation and date of expiration. A full inspection was conducted, multiple violations were observed. Video footage is available, however manager stated that the footage is being reviewed by legal, and we would have to wait to receive a copy,’ part of Monday’s report read as per ABC13.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, Aliyah’s mother posted a series of baby photos to Facebook.
‘I hope to see you again one day and you’ll keep looking at me and you’ll get that big smile that was contagious with joy,’ the mom wrote.
‘You gave yourself to love always with your heart so noble. I will love you for all eternity.
‘You are the most beautiful thing God has given me and after every battle we went through together we didn’t win this one.’
Police said officers stated that they were awaiting official autopsy results to confirm Aliyah Jaico’s official cause and manner of death.
It remained unclear what censures the Hilton Hotel now faced and whether management faced criminal charges or a civil suit.
