Tragedy struck in Houston on Saturday, March 23, 2024. A missing 8-year-old girl was found dead in a hotel pool pipe. This is a heartbreaking case.
The body has been identified as Aliyah Jaico. Her preliminary cause of death is believed to be "drowning and mechanical asphyxia." It is not believed there was any foul play in this situation. Her death is believed to be a horrible accident.
Aliyah was first reported missing at 5:45 p.m. She was swimming in a lazy river pool with her family before she went missing. Six hours later, her body was discovered by the Houston Police Department and other first responders inside a large pipe. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
This case greatly impacted those who worked on it. “This is one of the saddest ones we've seen in a good while,” Tim Miller, founder of Texas EquuSearch, told KTRK-TV. "Many of us had to wipe tears from our eyes.” He believes that Aliyah was pulled into a malfunctioning pipe that sucked in water instead of pushing it out.
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The DoubleTree Hotel’s pool has been shut down. Several violations were found. An investigation is still ongoing.
"I never, ever thought in a million years it was going to end up as bad as it ended up,” Tim continued. “There is a grieving family out there, and it is going to be a long, painful healing process over this one.”
