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Life Just Isn't

H

heartbreak

Junior Member
I need you, the readers help.
I am not very computer savvy, and I had a terrible tragedy occur while on vacation in Mexico with my 8 year old son. He was killed at the Occidental Grand Xcaret, Mexico due to their total negligence and incompetence. Brent was violently pulled into a 12" underwater, uncovered pipe at 600psi.
The resort management then proceeded to play the "let's find the missing child" game for 20 hours when they knew where he was within the 1st 2 hours of his missing.
I am not interested in scamming or anything like that, but this information needs to be shared with as many people as possible so that folks travelling can make informed decisions. The Mexican government did a "reinvestigation", and could not find ANYONE responsible for the pool. This is very wrong!! I can not share with you the daily pain of missing one of the nicest little people you ever wanted to know.
So I hope that I am not overstepping my bounds by asking for travel board postings. I know that google has quite a few so I would not want them duplicated. To confirm and learn more...google.com Brent Midlock or www.brentmidlock.com
My intention is not to offend any one but to ask for your help and expertise in the computer world.
Thank You,
Brent's Mom
 
Pool Danger
Steve Sanders
Reporter

July 10, 2003

Most parents keep a watchful eye, while their children are swimming. But tonight, we'll tell you about a hidden hazard that can strike in the blink of an eye -- with such force, that even lifeguards may not be able to help. The warning applies to hot tubs, spas, and even kiddie pools.

Additional Resources:
Illinois Department of Public Health
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
CPSC Issues Warning for Pools, Spas, and Hot Tubs
CPSC Warning On Drain Grates Of Wading Pools
Lifesaving Resources
If not properly designed or maintained, pool drains can act like underwater monsters -- waiting to lure children to the bottom, and hold them in a deadly grip. Intended to draw water for cleaning, drains sometimes draw children as well -- their hair, their hands, even entire bodies -- trapping kids beneath the surface. It's how a bright and athletic 8-year-old boy from Joliet died this spring.

"There wasn't anybody who knew Brent that didn't like him," says Andy Midlock. "He was just a delightful little guy. Loved life, loved every aspect of his life and he was just a great little guy."

The last time Andy and Nancy Midlock saw their son; he was snorkeling in a shallow, saltwater pool. He was in the water one minute, gone the next.

"It didn't make any sense," Nancy says. "You know, I have a fin in a pool, and a snorkel tube in this lagoon. But I was sitting right there. So I immediately thought: well, someone had to have taken him."

Brent Midlock had not been kidnapped. He'd been sucked into one of the pool's drain pipes; which, at the time, were underwater. Witnesses say: the nearly foot-wide pipes were left open and exposed.

"And within a snap of a finger, all of that was gone," says Nancy. "What's hard to make sense of it is: it's not a very dignified way for a wonderful little boy to lose his life."

Other children have died the same way.

Nearly three years ago, Chad Humphreys was snorkeling with his brother at a resort in the Bahamas. The 12-year-old was sucked, head-first, into an exposed pipe at the bottom of the pool.

If you think it could never happen here in the United States, think again. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission counts nearly 150 people trapped by defective drains since 1985. Thirty-six of them died. Others, like Valerie Lakey, were left permanently disabled. The force of a drain trapped the North Carolina girl on the bottom of a wading pool.

And in Miami, it took six people more than 15 minutes to pull Lorenzo Peterson from a pool. He's been in a coma for three years.

"The suction that's created in a small drain, say a four-inch diameter drain, is sufficient to hold down a child. It's sufficient to hold down an adult," explains Joe O'Connor, Regional Supervisor with the state Department of Public Health. That agency licenses both public and private pools here in Illinois.

"It's a pretty significant hazard," O'Connor says.

"If the cover is broken or missing and somebody were to get themselves trapped in there; they're trapped in, in this case, in River Park, eleven feet of water," says John Piazza. He's the Deputy Director of Facility Management for the Chicago Park District, and oversees city swimming pools.

"Well, these are clearly well maintained. That looks like it's sealed down there," says reporter Steve Sanders.

"Yes. These are secure. The only way to get these off, you have to have actual tools to get them off," Piazza says.

The Illinois Swimming Pool and Bathing Beach Code requires tamper-proof drain covers. With proper maintenance, this kind of accident is preventable.

So how can you protect your children? Whether it's your neighborhood pool or a roadside motel: Check those drain covers. Get in the water and make sure they're securely fastened.

Warn your children to stay away from drains. Don't underestimate the temptation of a shiny coin on the pool bottom.

If you can't see the drain because the water is too murky, there are other reasons to keep out of the pool.

"I would have never put my kids in a situation that would have brought them any harm. I just there's not a part of me that would ever do that," says Nancy Midlock. "I left with three kids and in four days I came home with two."

The Midlock family has filed a lawsuit against the Mexican resort where Brent drowned. His parents say: the hotel should have known the pool was dangerous. They say it should have been built to American standards. Hotel management tells us measures were in place, to keep swimmers away from the drain. They say they're still investigating exactly what happened.

Copyright © 2004, WGN-TV
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If this is true that is absolutely heart wrenching. 🙁 My son is 9 so I can truly understand how you must be feeling right now. I don't know how you can even think coherently.
 
If you're seeking to get the word out & haven't already done so, contact the media (all the big tv stations) in your hometown to report the story. Also, you may want to post your story on epinions.com

I am so sorry for your loss.
 
Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
How does one get pulled into a 600PSI pipe? Atmospheric pressure is 14.7PSI...
Click to expand...

there was 600 psi of pressure pulling him into the pipe, not pushing hom out. Its quite alot.

Sorry for your loss.
 
Originally posted by: LordMorpheus
Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
How does one get pulled into a 600PSI pipe? Atmospheric pressure is 14.7PSI...
Click to expand...

there was 600 psi of pressure pulling him into the pipe, not pushing hom out. Its quite alot.

Sorry for your loss.
Click to expand...

Max ~20PSI (reletive) pulling. It's impossible to get below 0 absolute PSI.
 
others might disagree, but I think another lesson here is: never take your little kids outside of your country for vacation! Would a 9yr old know or care the diff between the pool in the disney world or the one in mexico? If anything happens, you will have a hard time fighting with their government, cultures, coverups, etc. sorry to hear about your lost.

 
Originally posted by: Hankerton
Did anyone notice her son died a year and a half ago? Why is this being brought up now?
Click to expand...

Well, she obviously thinks the Mexican government did a half ass investigation and so she isn't going to give up....

You find this weird how?
 
Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
Originally posted by: LordMorpheus
Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
How does one get pulled into a 600PSI pipe? Atmospheric pressure is 14.7PSI...
Click to expand...

there was 600 psi of pressure pulling him into the pipe, not pushing hom out. Its quite alot.

Sorry for your loss.
Click to expand...

Max ~20PSI (reletive) pulling. It's impossible to get below 0 absolute PSI.
Click to expand...

dude drop the physics crap. to put it simply it a pump creating the suction.



 
yes, it was04-26-03---when you are a parent and your heart has literally been ripped out, your life no longer becomes your life, but merely an existence. My children are loved unconditionally---where do I put the love for Brent? I can not hug him, tell him that he is the best little boy and play games. When something this horrific happens you never get over it and I am only able to write about it now.
 
Wow that you came here for advice!

As other's have suggested, if you have not done so, contact your local media. Contact travel agencies maybe?
 
Originally posted by: heartbreak
yes, it was04-26-03---when you are a parent and your heart has literally been ripped out, your life no longer becomes your life, but merely an existence. My children are loved unconditionally---where do I put the love for Brent? I can not hug him, tell him that he is the best little boy and play games. When something this horrific happens you never get over it and I am only able to write about it now.
Click to expand...

🙁 I only hope your warnings will alert parents other than myself. Yours along with recent stories I've been reading have all made me take this issue more to heart. I wish you the best in your endeavor.
 
Originally posted by: heartbreak
yes, it was04-26-03---when you are a parent and your heart has literally been ripped out, your life no longer becomes your life, but merely an existence. My children are loved unconditionally---where do I put the love for Brent? I can not hug him, tell him that he is the best little boy and play games. When something this horrific happens you never get over it and I am only able to write about it now.
Click to expand...

Some good friends of mine lost their then 16yo daughter and only child to a car accident. Fortunately, they had the means to establish a non-profit charity organization in her name. The foundation now has a board of directors and staff. They donate to causes and activities and organizations their daughter enjoyed and it supports other humanitarian efforts around the globe.
 
Thanks for your response, but yes Brent clearly distinguished the difference between Mexico and Disney.
The 1st 3 days were fun until...I do regret taking my children to Mexico because 1 thing I know for sure is that if I did not take them to Mexico Brent would not have died there, and for that I carry a lot of guilt.
My point is that we all need to share is that Mexico tourism heavily promotes the US and Canada and there are almost 5 million Americans that vacation in Mexico a year. WHY? because the majority of us think of it as an extension of the US. The hazard is that few know that they do not have safety standards that are even remotely close to the US. The State Dept. website of Americans dying abroad lists all the countries***an interesting note is that 1/3 of the deaths are in Mexico.
 
Originally posted by: heartbreak
Thanks for your response, but yes Brent clearly distinguished the difference between Mexico and Disney.
The 1st 3 days were fun until...I do regret taking my children to Mexico because 1 thing I know for sure is that if I did not take them to Mexico Brent would not have died there, and for that I carry a lot of guilt.
My point is that we all need to share is that Mexico tourism heavily promotes the US and Canada and there are almost 5 million Americans that vacation in Mexico a year. WHY? because the majority of us think of it as an extension of the US. The hazard is that few know that they do not have safety standards that are even remotely close to the US. The State Dept. website of Americans dying abroad lists all the countries***an interesting note is that 1/3 of the deaths are in Mexico.
Click to expand...

I can understand how you would feel guilty as anyone would but it's not your fault. You wanted him to experience the world. Tragedy could strike anywhere and none of us are immune. You did nothing wrong but I would feel the same as you so I don't fault you for it in the least.
 
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