Update: Sammamish Girl Dead from Apparent Strangulation Was 4 Years Old

Update, Aug. 29, 12:05 p.m.:

The following information was provided by the King County Sheriff's Office:

King County Sheriff’s Detectives said the girl that died as the result of a possible accidental strangulation at a school playground was actually 4 years old and not 7 years old as originally reported.

Police responded to the Samantha Smith Elementary School in the 23300 block of NE 14 ST. around 6:30 PM on Tuesday evening after a 911 call was received.

The victim and her twin brother were at the school playground with an adult, live-in caretaker.  The victim had reportedly been playing with a jump rope sometime before the incident happened.

At some point the caretaker and the 4 year old boy went to a nearby location to pick blackberries.  The girl stayed on the playground to play.  When the caretaker and boy returned to the playground they found the girl on the slide with the rope around her neck. Due to a significant language barrier, police are still working to confirm what position the child was in when she was found, Sergeant Cindi West said.

Police said foul play is not suspected and the initial indication is that the death was an accident.  The King County Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine cause of death.

The King County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting an investigation as is the protocol for child deaths.

Detectives said there was a substantial language barrier during the initial investigation and the caretaker was extremely distraught making it difficult to get information. 

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Original story:

Police and paramedics responded to this evening, Aug. 28, where a 7-year-old girl died from an apparent accidental strangulation by a jumprope.

The girl was playing at the school with a babysitter, the babysitter's mother, and her 5-year-old brother around 7 p.m. this evening. The girl had been playing with the jumprope around her neck, the boy told police.

The two adults and the boy went to pick berries, and when they returned, found the girl face down halfway down the slide with the jumprope tightly wrapped around her neck, KCSO Sergeant Cindi West said.

The child was pronounced dead at Overlake Hospital. The death appears to be accidental, but the King County Sheriff's Office is investigating.