Teen dead, others hospitalized after suspected carbon monoxide leak at Michigan hotel

13-year-old Niles boy pronounced dead, police say

NILES, Mich. – A teenage Niles boy is dead and multiple children were taken to the hospital after being found unresponsive near a pool at a hotel in Niles, which is near the Michigan-Indiana border.

The Niles police 911 center received a call at 9:53 a.m. Saturday about six children who were unresponsive in the pool area of a Quality Inn in Niles.

According to reports by WNDU-TV and WSBT-TV, an employee at Quality Inn & Suites discovered the children on the pool deck and called 911.

Police said officers found six children, ages 12 to 14, unresponsive.

Personnel from multiple agencies arrived at the hotel to assist. Police said officers checked the airway of all involved to ensure they could breathe, administered chest compressions to those in need and, with the assistance of additional first responders, were able to get all the kids involved out of the building and to ambulance crews outside.

A relative of the children alerted officers to a seventh child in one of the first-floor rooms during a room-to-room evacuation of the hotel and advised that the child wasn't breathing, police said.

Officers found the child in the room and were able to get her to respond to them. Police said at that time she was able to walk outside to an ambulance.

The girl was identified as having just come from the pool room where she had been with the other six children, police said.

All of the children involved were taken by ambulance to area hospitals. Police said officers checked the interior of each room in the hotel and no additional victims were found.

The 13-year-old boy from Niles was unable to recover. Police said he was pronounced dead at Lakeland Medical Center in Niles.

An officer and deputy were treated for overexposure to carbon monoxide. Police said they were later released from the hospital. Other officers were evaluated as a precaution.

The hotel had 24 rooms booked at the time. Police said all guests and staff were evacuated from the building.

"A check of carbon monoxide levels by the fire department identified elevated levels in the pool area and even higher levels in the pool maintenance room, with the highest level recorded at over 800 parts per million when firefighters first entered the pool area," the Niles Police Department said. "The fire departments opened doors and with the use of fans quickly began ventilating the building."

Police said the hotel was closed for occupancy while the investigation continues.