“There is no greater love than to give oneself for one’s sister.” This is the memory that Helen Cornell will keep of her niece Mackenzie, who died Sunday at the age of eleven. During a pool party organized at a hotel in Wheelersburg (Ohio), the young girl rushed into the water after seeing that her little sister Mackenna was in difficulty in the deep end of the pool. The pond was not monitored at that time.
When help arrived, witnesses were trying to resuscitate the two girls, who had come out of the water unconscious. Mackenna regained consciousness, but Mackenzie did not, despite the efforts of rescuers. She was pronounced dead at the hospital, reports KFVS 12. “Her little sister couldn’t swim very well and she went to save her, which cost her her life,” summarizes the victim’s aunt, who evokes a “very feminine” child, who loved shopping and spending time with family.
At a vigil outside the girl’s primary school on Monday, a teacher described Mackenzie as an “absolutely adorable, very loving and kind” child. “I remember his smile. Every time she came to class, she smiled. She had a very soft voice. She was one of the easiest students to like,” said Chad Brenner, another teacher. Mackenzie leaves behind her father, her grandparents who raised her, her brother Jacob and her sister Mackenna. His funeral will take place on Saturday.
