BY JANET C. WETZEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
OXFORD -- A 4-year-old girl died in a Dayton hospital at 3:20 p.m. Monday after clinging to life for about a day after rescuers found her floating face down in a lake.
Deanna Kinney, 4, of Hamilton apparently wandered into Acton Lake at Hueston Woods State Park on Sunday. She was visiting the park with her family, said Lonnie Snow, assistant park manager. She was pronounced dead of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (brain death) at Children's Medical Center in Dayton.
When Deanna was reported missing about 5 p.m. Sunday, lifeguards and about 30 people who were visiting the beach formed a human chain and trudged into the dingy waters searching for her.
"They located her about 20 feet offshore in about 4 feet of water, floating face down," Mr. Snow said. "She was just submerged in the murky water."
Lifeguards, ranger staff, paramedics from Millville Fire Department and nurses visiting the park worked frantically to revive her. They administered CPR until an air ambulance arrived, Mr. Snow said. The Camden EMS fire and life squad personnel also came to help, he said.
The child was airlifted (by CareFlight of Miami Valley Hospital) to Children's.
"It's amazing how many medical people were visiting or vacationing in the area," Mr. Snow said.
The child's parents did not respond to a message left at the hospital.
Was playing alone
The accident remains under investigation, but Mr. Snow said the child was in an area of the beach that has no lifeguards and was outside the safety buoys.
It appears she was playing in the lake alone and no one noticed she was missing for 15 to 20 minutes, authorities said. She was not wearing a flotation device.
"When the mother was looking for the child, she panicked and realized she might be in the water," Mr. Snow said.
Minutes earlier, some youngsters said they saw a child floating in the water but thought it was just children playing, he said.
"There was a fairly large crowd of people down there, so there were lots of children in the water," Mr. Snow said. "We've all turned our heads and had our child do something unexpected in an instant."
To avoid accidents like this, authorities say these safety rules always should be followed when swimming:
Don't swim alone.
Wear a flotation device if you can't swim.
Swim only in areas where there are lifeguards.
Closely supervise young children.
