Grandmother charged after 12-year-old stranded in hazardous jet ski rescue
Anne Lachell Sellers has been charged after a 12-year-old was endangered during a jet ski incident in South Carolina.
By Zach Rainey
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MONCKS CORNER, South Carolina (WYFF) — A grandmother has been charged after a 12-year-old was endangered during a jet ski incident in South Carolina.
At 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol, along with the BCSO Dive Team, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Coast Guard, the Naval Weapons Station Fire Department and Pimlico Fire Department responded to a water rescue involving a stranded jet ski operator and her 12-year-old granddaughter in Moncks Corner.
Deputies said 53-year-old Anne Lachell Sellers called 911 to say she was stranded on her jet ski and that her granddaughter attempted to swim back to shore for help.
According to authorities, multiple marine vessels and drones were deployed to search for the 12-year-old. The child was found in marshland approximately 600 yards from the boat ramp.
Deputies said the girl suffered cuts and abrasions to her arms and legs and was transported to an area hospital for treatment and further evaluation.
Preliminary investigations revealed Sellers was originally untruthful during the investigation.
Deputies later learned that Sellers and the juvenile took separate jet skis and one of them was not working correctly. When both of them became stranded, Sellers instructed the girl to swim back to the boat landing for help, despite hazardous conditions such as strong currents, high winds, and known wildlife threats in the area.
Sellers was arrested and charged with unlawful conduct toward a minor. She was booked into the Hill-Finklea Detention Center, where she awaits a bond hearing.
The South Carolina Department of Social Services was notified of the incident.
“Careless decisions that endanger the lives of juveniles will not be tolerated, and we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law,” Sheriff Duane Lewis stated. “Not only was this child’s life put at risk, but so were the lives of our first responders who entered dangerous conditions to conduct the rescue. These actions are unacceptable and criminally negligent.”
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