Charges filed in drowning of Burgettstown teen
WEIRTON, W.Va. – Two Weirton residents are facing charges in connection with the recent drowning of a Burgettstown teen.
Thirteen-year-old Reese Hanshaw drowned June 30 while swimming in the Ohio River in Weirton.
Ashley Marie Shelton, 29, and Joshua Lewis Lockerbie, 35, both of 3103 Pennsylvania Ave., were arrested Wednesday in connection with the teen’s death, according to Weirton Police Chief Charlie Kush. Each faces one felony count of child neglect causing death and five felony counts of gross neglect of a child creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.
According to the criminal complaint, along with information provided by law enforcement, the two had taken six children, ranging in age 4 to 13, to a bank along the Ohio River near the Veterans Memorial Bridge on the evening of June 30.
“Due to heavy rainfall throughout the day and while they were present, the water level was high,” Kush said, and Hanshaw was “swept away by the current.”
First responders were called around 6:55 p.m., and police said when they arrived, they found Hanshaw face-down in the water, floating about 50 yards from the river bank, charging documents state.
They performed CPR before Hanshaw was transported to an ambulance on an all-terrain vehicle belonging to the city’s fire department. She was taken to WVU Medicine – Weirton Medical Center, where attempts to revive the youth failed. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.
According to Kush, no flotation devices were present, and Lockerbie and Shelton knew that “none of the children were strong swimmers.”
Lockerbie told police he had no experience swimming in the river while Shelton said she didn’t know how to swim, the complaint states.
The two are being held in the West Virginia Northern Regional Jail in lieu of a $150,000 bond each, set in Brooke County Magistrate Court, where their cases are pending.
Family members have described Hanshaw as a talented youth who enjoyed drawing, crafting, creating videos and editing and loved animals.
“My niece was a sweet ray of sunshine to many,” said Becky Watlet, Hanshaw’s aunt, in the days following the teen’s death.
A GoFundMe campaign for Hanshaw’s family has raised more than $10,000.
The Observer-Reporter contributed to this story.