Crawford County sheriff’s deputies are investigating the death of a 5-year-old Fayetteville girl but believe it will be classified as an accidental drowning.
Alexandria Giles was declared dead at a Van Buren hospital Wednesday afternoon after she was pulled from a swimming pool at 1741 Oak Grove Road southeast of Van Buren.
A sheriff ’s department report stated that Alexandria was with her 17-year-old brother and his 16-year-old girlfriend and went to the girlfriend’s grandmother’s home to swim in her pool.
Sheriff’s deputy Sgt. Ken Howard said the girlfriend’s grandmother, Regina Daugherty, was not home at the time.
According to the report, the boy and girlfriend sat on a deck while Alexandria swam in the pool. The boy told investigators that after about 15 minutes, he noticed it was quiet around the pool and, onchecking, found Alexandria floating in the pool.
Howard said Alexandria was not wearing a floatation device but that plastic foam floating “noodles” were in the pool.
Emergency medical personnel rushed to the home and tried to revive Alexandria before transporting her to Summit Medical Center in Van Buren.
Her body has been sent to the Arkansas Medical Examiner’s office for an autopsy, Howard said.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 16 on 07/06/2013