Drowning Victim, 10, Identified

A 10-year-old girl who drowned Sunday evening at the Best Western Pavilion Motel in Anaheim was identified Monday as Cynthia Ha of Rosemead.

“Apparently she didn’t know how to swim,” said Larry Esslinger, a spokesman for the Orange County Coroners office. “This has happened before, unfortunately.”

The coroner’s office was still investigating the death, said Cullen Ellingburgh, supervising deputy.

But a police spokesman said there did not appear to be any criminal culpability.

“We’ve interviewed every witness there and nobody can say that they actually saw her drown,” said Lt. Joe Vargas, a spokesman for the Anaheim Police Department. “It’s not a case of neglect because she was not left alone in the pool area--there were other people there. It’s obvious that somebody lost track of her.”

The girl was swimming in the hotel pool with her aunt and uncle about 9 p.m. Sunday when one or both adults went to their room to get a sweater. When they returned, police said, the girl was motionless and underwater in the shallow end of the pool.

When police arrived, a motel guest who is a nurse was administering CPR. The girl was taken to Western Medical Center of Anaheim, where she was declared dead at 9:41 p.m.

Officials described the pool as a heated outdoor facility with no lifeguard.