Girl Drowns In Aurora Pool; Brother On Life Support

AURORA, Colo. -- The drowning of a 16-year-old Aurora girl, and near-drowning of her 11-year-old brother have been ruled accidental according to Aurora Police.

Both victims were found at the bottom of the north swimming pool at Raintree East condominium complex Monday afternoon. The pool had just opened for the season.

Police told 7NEWS that no bruises were found on the girl, and that the coroner ruled her death consistent with accidental drowning.

Authorities identified the victim as Bethlehem Gezaee, a student at Overland High School and a member of the soccer team. Her brother, Yaekob Gezaee, is still in the pediatric ICU at Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center. Yaekob is a student at Ponderosa Elementary School.

Neighbor Jesse Hoover told 7NEWS that he and his mother were going swimming when they discovered the victims.

"I saw a striped shirt and we walked over," Hoover said, "and there was a girl at the bottom. Then I saw the boy over by the edge."

Hoover ran to get his dad. His father, Ron Burney, called 911 from his cell phone.

The girl was wearing street clothes and her brother was wearing a swimsuit. There were no witnesses to the mishap, but police believe the girl jumped into the pool to save her brother.

"I think he drowned first and she went in to save him," said their cousin, Arsema Kahsay.

Neighbor Erin Hirth said she saw the two victims while swimming earlier in the day.

"We told them to go home because you could tell the little boy didn't know how to swim very (well)," Hirth said.

The pool is surrounded by a 6-feet tall security fence. The front gate is locked.

Residents have keys to the gate. When asked if the children had their parents' permission to go swimming, Det. Friel said "I don't know."

He said a security guard checked the pool around 5 p.m, but no one was there.

Investigators said the children's mother and father were at work when the drowning occurred. Neighbors said the father works for United Airlines and that the mother works as a babysitter.

When 7NEWS asked an uncle how the family was doing, he broke down, saying that "they'd only been here five months."

According to neighbors, the family had just moved to Aurora from Ethiopia.