Parents could face charges after 4-year-old drowns at Oakland County athletic club

INDEPENDENCE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (FOX 2) - Two women who allegedly left six children alone in a pool at an Oakland County athletic club while they visited the club's restaurant could face charges after one of those children drowned.

On Friday night, a 4-year-old girl's sister pulled the child from the pool at the Deer Lake Athletic Club in Independence Township. The young girl was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The backstory:

According to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, the two women who brought their children to the club put some pool toys into the water with the children, ages 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12, and left the pool area to order food and drinks.

The women were allegedly gone for about 35 minutes when the youngest child drowned. The sheriff's office said there were toys and noodles in the water, but no life preservers were left with the children while they were unsupervised in the pool, which has no lifeguard on duty. There are signs advising that there is not a lifeguard present, as well as signs stating children younger than 16 must be supervised in the pool, which ranges in depth from 3-5 feet.

What they're saying:

Steve Dolnut, a former Detroit police assistant chief, said the parents were neglectful.

"I don't care how many kids you have, to leave kids unattended in a pool, granted, the oldest one is 12, and to throw a noodle in there, but not a life jacket or have someone observing, that's child neglect at the bare minimum," Dolnut said.

Both Dolnut and Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard called the death tragic and avoidable.

What's next:

The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office is reviewing the case for possible charges.

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