By Theresa Armstrong

Reporter

tdunn@gcnnewsgazette.com

A local youth drowned in Nolin Lake Wednesday afternoon around 12 p.m.

According to a report from the Grayson County Coroner, Joe Brad Hudson, nine-year-old Raina Michelle King, drowned at her residence on Irene Decker Road on Nolin Lake.

Raina was the daughter of Karen and Joey Pence.

“She was playing in the yard, on the swing set between her parents home and her grandfather’s home, when her mother (Karen Pence) noticed she was not there,” said an aunt to the child. “The door was open to her dad’s trailer so her mom thought she had gone to visit him.

“As soon as she found out she was not there she yelled for Raina’s big sister, Samantha (Ailes),” said the aunt. “They found her down at the lake, in the water between the boat and the dock. Like she had tried to step on the pontoon boat and missed.”

Grayson County Emergency Medical Services were dispatched as well as the Clarkson Fire Department.

Raina was then taken to Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center where Hudson was called and he pronounced her dead around 2:15 p.m.

Raina was a special child who was had a disorder known as Angelman Syndrome (AS).

Children with this disorder usually have stiff movement or balance disorder, and/or tremulous movement of limbs. There is usually developmental delay and speech impairment, with no or minimal use of words.

One of the behaviors that is unique to Angelman Syndrome is frequent laughter or smiling. These children have an apparent happy demeanor, are easily excitable, often with hand flapping movements. The child may have a short attention span and a fascination with water and plastics.

Raina’s mom describes her as the happiest child in the world. “She was not ever sad. She was so loved and cherished and she knew it,” said Pence.

According to her aunt, Raina had received a new two-piece bathing suit from her grandfather and was proud of it as she looked at herself in the mirror and showed her sister earlier in the day.

This may have been the reason the youngster traveled to the lake.

Her sister tells of finding the little sister loved, “I thought about going up the hill and something told me to look down. So I looked down at the water and there she was. I tried to get her out of the water and started screaming,” said Ailes.

“I could not get her out of the water. She was too heavy so I grabbed her arm and pulled her face out of the water,” added Ailes. “Then my Papaw got there and pulled her out. They started doing CPR.”