12-Year-Old Girl Dies After Snow Fort Collapses on Her Outside Church

A 12-year-old Illinois girl who was building a snow fort with a friend outside a church over the weekend was killed after the snowbank collapsed on top of them, authorities said. 

Esther Jung and another a 9-year-old girl were building the fort outside Rotem Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois, while their families were inside attending church services Sgt. Charles Buczynski of the Arlington Heights Police Department told The Chicago Tribune. 

About an hour after the two girls left the church, people in the families noticed their children hadn't yet returned from playing and went out to search for them, police said. That's when they discovered the two girls underneath the large pile of snow after spotting one of the girls' clothing sticking out of the snow, Buczynski told the New York Post. 

Police say it's unclear how long the two girls were under the snow or how much snow was piled on top of them. 

"By the time police and fire personnel responded to the scene, they were already out of the snow," said Buczynski. "It's just a tragic accident." 

Jung was identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, the newspaper reported. She was pronounced dead about 4:30 p.m. at Northwest Community Hospital, police said. The other 9-year-old girl was taken to the hospital where she is being treated for hypothermia. 

"The 9-year-old is expected to make a full recovery,” Buczynski said. "She is expected to be fine. She doesn’t have any other injuries."



Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content