HOUSTON — An 8-year-old girl reported missing over the weekend in Houston died when she was sucked into the vent of a hotel pool that malfunctioned and began pulling water in instead of pushing it out.

What You Need To Know

  • An 8-year-old girl reported missing over the weekend died when she was sucked into a malfunctioning pool vent at a DoubleTree hotel in Houston

  • The girl's mother searched for her for an hour to no avail. A search crew drained the pool and eventually found Aliyah Lynette Jaico's body inside an “unsecured 12 to 16 inch unsecured open gap” in the pool’s flow system

  • Aliyah’s mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Unique Crowne Hospitality LLC and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and seeks $1 million in damages

According to a lawsuit, the mother of Aliyah Lynette Jaico rented a room at a DoubleTree by Hilton Houston Brookhollow hotel on Saturday so Aliyah, who loved to swim, could use the pool with her family.

Tragedy struck when Aliyah was reported missing at approximately 5:45 p.m., last being seen at the pool’s lazy river.

Aliyah’s mother searched for her for an hour to no avail before calling the police. Security footage showed that the girl was in the pool, went underwater and didn’t resurface.

Houston Police Department, Houston Fire and Texas EquuSearch were dispatched to help locate her. The EquuSearch crew drained the pool, checked the pipes and eventually found Aliyah’s body inside an “unsecured 12 to 16 inch unsecured open gap” in the pool’s flow system.

Aliyah’s mother filed the wrongful death lawsuit against Unique Crowne Hospitality LLC and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and seeks $1 million in damages.

According to a statement from Hilton, the DoubleTree hotel where Aliyah was found is owned and operated by a third party, ABC 13 reports.

“Hilton offers our sincere condolences to the family and loved ones for the tragic loss of a young girl at the DoubleTree by Hilton Houston Brookhollow. This property is independently owned and operated by a third party. Hilton does not own, manage, or control the day-to-day operations of the property and does not employ any of the property’s staff or its third-party operators,” the statement reads.