A lifeguard at the Lincoln County YMCA in North Carolina was found dead in the facility’s pool early Thursday morning.
The Charlotte Observer reports that a concerned YMCA staff member noticed the pool area, which 21-year-old Yesenia Jimenez Linares was supposed to open, was locked. After attempts to contact or find Linares were unsuccessful, police were called with reports of a missing person. Police arrived on the scene, where they discovered Linares in the pool, unresponsive. She was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Details as to how Linares wound up drowning are unclear, but police said no foul play was suspected.
Linares worked at the Y since 2014, and was described by colleagues as the embodiment of they YMCA’s mission of helping others.
After Linares was found, the facility closed for the day, and grief counselors were called in to work with staff.
“Our Y family is heartbroken and fully focused on supporting the family, along with our entire branch staff and members,” YMCA spokesperson Molly Thompson told the Observer.
A funeral fund for Linares was set up on GoFundMe.
