Girl, 3, drowns; is fourth young victim

Jen Lawson

Thursday, June 17, 2004 | 11:11 a.m.

Metro Police are investigating the drowning death Monday of a 3-year-old girl in a residential swimming pool in southwest Las Vegas, the fourth child drowning in Clark County this year.

Sarah Un-Hac Lautenbach and her family were visiting friends Sunday when she wandered away and ended up in the pool, Lt. Jeff Carlson of Metro's abuse and neglect detail said.

She was taken to University Medical Center, where she died Monday.

Her parents, Jin Suk and Rick Lautenbach, could not be reached for comment. In addition to her parents, Sarah is survived by her brother, Nicholaas, as well as her grandparents, who live in Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

As is the case with all deaths of children ages 5 and younger, Metro's abuse and neglect detectives are investigating the drowning, Carlson said. They will submit their findings to officials at the Clark County district attorney's office.

"Do (her parents) have a responsibility to supervise their child? Yes," Carlson said. The district attorney's office decides whether a failure to supervise that results in injury or death to children constitutes a crime.

In two of the four child drownings this year in Clark County prosecutors have determined criminal charges were not appropriate.

Those included a 6-year-old girl who was found April 6 in a swimming pool at the Allegro at la Entrada apartment complex in Henderson and a 20-month-old boy who fell into an above-ground pool in northeast Las Vegas on March 9.

The most recent drowning, which occurred May 27 and involved a 5-year-old girl, is still being evaulated by prosecutors.

This year to date there have been 12 near-drownings.

In seven of the past nine years, children have died in Clark County at more than twice the average rate of the nation as a whole, Clark County Health District officials said.

The relatively high rate of child drownings in Southern Nevada is not because parents in the region are less responsible, but rather that the region has a hotter climate, resulting in a greater number of pools -- and a longer outdoor season -- than most of the country.

Clark County has more than 65,000 private pools and more than 5,000 public pools. California and Arizona also have high numbers of pools and, consequently, many drownings.

In 2003, 10 children younger than 15 drowned and 32 nearly drowned in Clark County, according to the Health District.

In 2002 the Health District reported six drownings and 50 near drownings involving children younger than 15.