The 8-month-old baby who showed no signs of brain function after being found face down in a bathtub in a San Tan Valley home died Thursday morning, said Elias Johnson, a Pinal County Sheriff's Office spokesman.
Chevelle Shettler died after doctors removed her breathing tube at 11:30 a.m. She never showed any sign of brain function.
The mother, Patricia Schettler, said she was giving the baby girl a bath Wednesday and turned to grab a towel. When she turned back around, the infant was floating face down in the tub, according to the press release. The baby was not breathing and had turned a blue color, the release said.
The mother took the baby to a neighbor's house; the neighbor then called 911 and administered CPR.
Paramedics administered aggressive CPR on Chevelle and she was rushed by ambulance to the Banner Ironwood Medical Center shortly before noon, said Mark Cichocki, a Rural Metro Fire Department spokesman. The paramedics were unable to find a pulse.
A faint pulse was established at the hospital, according to the Pinal County Sheriff's Office. From there, she was flown by helicopter to Cardon Children's Medical Center in Mesa.
It is not known how long the baby was submerged. A toddler-aged sibling was in another room of the house during the incident. Her father was at work in Florence.
"Please watch kids around water," Cichocki urged.
The death is currently under investigation by the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, Johnson said.
mommylovesethan posted at 4:33 pm on Tue, Aug 16, 2011.
I am so tired of hearing about my poor family in the news and these stupid comments. People are so heartless and the media is not correct. For one, she didnt FIND that precious baby in the tub, she never left and for two she was not blue when she found her. I hope whenever anybody reads this article, they will go home and hold their children. They loved that baby more than anything and were the best parents anybody could ever be. My family has been thru enough and dont need all this negativity when nobody even knows the truth. Unless you have gone thru something like this you will never understand the pain we are feeling.
renew21 posted at 8:40 am on Fri, Aug 12, 2011.
First off, I feel sorry for this family and this poor baby girl. May God be with them in this time of sorrow. Now to me it does not make sense she just turned around to grab a towel. I think she left the room to get a towel, looked at the other kid to make sure the other child was ok, and then returned to find the baby face down. We might not get the full story, and I hope this was just as stupid and ignorant accident. Cant leave your baby in the tub unsupervised. Please, watch your kids around water. So so sad.
higleymom posted at 9:19 am on Thu, Aug 11, 2011.
How do you FIND a baby in a bathtub?? You PLACE a baby in a bathtub and walk away maybe but you don't just find an 8 month old in cardiac arrest in the tub. Stupid mom, stupid reporting, stupid stupid stupid.