Mother charged after child pulled from Myrtle Beach resort’s pool

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - A mother is charged with neglect after her child was pulled from a Myrtle Beach resort’s pool.

Myrtle Beach police were called on Friday to the Caribbean Resort on North Ocean Boulevard for the incident.

Video surveillance showed Ana Becerra-Lira taking pictures of her child in a shallow hot tub before walking away to sit in a lounge chair, out of sight from the child, according to an arrest warrant.

While she was away, the child got out of the hot tub and jumped into a five-foot pool, where they were under the water for about six minutes before being pulled, the warrant states.

Becerra-Lira allegedly didn’t know where her child was or that her child had been pulled from the water and given CPR.

Police arrested her on Monday and charged her with unlawfully placing a child at risk of or cause harm or willfully abandon the child. She has since been released from the Myrtle Beach jail on a $1,000 bond.

The child was taken to the hospital on Friday after the incident, according to a spokesperson for the Myrtle Beach Fire Department.

“You have all of these families coming into town to enjoy themselves, you know, live their life and enjoy the Myrtle Beach lifestyle, and to hear that they’re not even paying attention to their kids just breaks your heart,” said Tristin Sabatini, who said he works at several hotels along Ocean Boulevard.

Sabatini said he hears about water emergencies often, and it never gets easier.

”It hurts, you know, because you want these people to be doing well. And it’s scary because you think they’d do something to change it up. Every single year, this just keeps happening,” he said.

Melissa Bookbinder said she has been a private swim instructor for forty years. She told WMBF News incidents like the one at the Caribbean Resort are easily preventable.

“It takes two minutes. Two minutes of you just taking a second to look at your phone and it’s taking a second to load. Those are the two minutes they go under and you didn’t notice,” said Bookbinder.

The incident also has parents staying at the Caribbean Resort thinking a little more about water safety.

Some, like Sam Khemvisai, said they think having a lifeguard would make them feel better.

“God forbid something were to happen to them, it would be really hard to go and save them without a lifeguard,” said Khemvisai.

Others said accidents can happen, but it’s all about being mindful and trying your best to keep your kids safe.

“You just got to watch out for your children as best you can. This is all of our first time parenting, so it could happen to any one of us,” said another parent, Edmond Smith.

As of now, the condition of Becerra-Lira’s child is unknown. Stay with WMBF News for updates.

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