"This is a tragedy no parent should have to endure," Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said in a statement. "These are the calls first responders dread and have difficulty dealing with."
A teenage girl describes by loved ones as a great human being died after going under water at an Ohio water park on Tuesday and never resurfacing, officials said.
Mykiara Jones, 14 was at the Land of Illusion’s Aqua Adventures Waterpark in Middletown around 5 p.m. when she disappeared under the water, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Jones was not wearing a life vest at the time of the accident. Officials said she was on some type of jumping attraction, the Associated Press reported.
According to the sheriff’s department, a lifeguard pulled Jones from the water about 30 minutes after she had been in the water. Emergency personnel performed CPR on the teen who was flown to Dayton’s Children’s Hospital.
"This is a tragedy no parent should have to endure," Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said in a statement. "These are the calls first responders dread and have difficulty dealing with."
Jones' cause of death has not yet been officially determined, according to WBNS 10 News.
On Wednesday, the Middletown City school district superintendent Marlon Styles sent out a statement on the district’s website to parents informing them of the tragedy.
“It is with great sadness that I write this letter to you. One of our students died yesterday after a possible drowning incident at the Land of Illusion Water Park. Mykiara Jones was a rising freshman at Middletown High School and we mourn for her family and friends,” Styles wrote. “Mykiara’s mother works in our schools, so we will be wrapping our arms around her during this extremely difficult time.”
The superintendent said the school’s student services department will have grief counselors available to support students, staff and parents.
"I'm truly saddened this happened because she could have done anything she wanted in life," Jones's middle school teacher told WPCO.
The Aqua Adventures Water Park remained closed Wednesday as the investigation into Jones’ death continued, the news outlet reported.
