Published on May 28, 2025 3:10 pm
Last Updated on May 30, 2025 10:00 am
A three-year-old Kinmundy girl has drowned in an above ground pool at an aunt and uncle’s home in rural Odin.
Marion County Coroner Claude Howell identifies the girl as Elaine McElroy, the daughter of Russell McElroy and Dawn Helton of Kinmundy.
The girl was staying with her aunt and uncle outside Odin while her mother had gone to Nebraska to pick up the girl’s father. A young boy at the residence saw the girl lying in the pool and notified the uncle.
Emergency help was called and CPR was started on the scene. An Air Evac helicopter landed nearby, but was not used since the girl’s condition never stabilized. She was transported by ambulance to SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia. CPR continued in the ambulance and the emergency room before she was pronounced dead by the coroner.
Howell says an autopsy has been scheduled for Thursday to make sure the girl did not have any other issues that may have led to her death.
