Girl dies trying to save her sister from drowning in hotel pool

An 11-year-old girl drowned this week while trying to rescue her sister from an Ohio hotel swimming pool, authorities said.

According to the Scioto County Sheriff’s Office, Mackenzie Cornell died on Sunday, June 2, in a pool at a Quality Inn hotel in Wheelersburg.

“The detective learned that the younger sister had fallen into the pool and the older sister, Mackenzie, was attempting to pull her out,” the sheriff’s office said Thursday, June 6. “Mackenzie was unsuccessful and also went under the water.”

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call Det. Tackett-Dye at 740-351-1099.

In a press release on Tuesday, June 4, authorities said the 9- and 11-year-old children were attending a pool party at the hotel.

Helen Cornell, Mackenzie’s aunt, spoke to NBC affiliate WSAZ about the tragic accident while attending a vigil at Bloom-Vernon Elementary School on Monday, June 3.

“Her little sister fell into the deep end of the pool and couldn’t swim very well. The big sister went to save her and she ended up dying,” she said. “There is no greater love than to sacrifice yourself for your sister.”

The girls were pulled from the water and CPR was performed, officials said. The 9-year-old was resuscitated, but Mackenzie died at the hospital.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident and our condolences go out to the Cornell family,” a spokesperson for Choice Hotels, which owns the Quality Inn, told PEOPLE in a statement. The Quality Inn hotel in Wheelersburg declined to comment.

Counseling services will be offered at the elementary school from noon to 2 p.m. local time through Friday, June 7, the Bloom-Vernon School District said in a Facebook post on June 3. Counselors will also be available at the parish church on June 6 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Teacher Chad Brenner told WSAZ that he will remember Mackenzie’s smile.

“Every time she came to class, she had a smile on her face,” he continued, noting that “she was one of those people who was easy to love.”

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A GoFundMe campaign launched to help ease the “burden” of her family has raised over $5,000 as of June 6.

“To make this already unbearable time easier for her grandparents and her father, we are asking for donations to cover the funeral costs,” said the organizer of the fundraiser.