MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Fourteen-year-old Mykiara Jones was a happy, outgoing girl with a life full of possibility, middle school teacher Jennifer King said Wednesday afternoon.
“Mykiara was just a great student, and she was a great human being,” King said. “I’m truly saddened this happened because she could have done anything she wanted in life.”
Jones died Tuesday night after disappearing under the water at Land of Illusion’s Aqua Adventures Water Park. A 911 caller indicated she had not been wearing a life jacket and claimed she had been underwater for several minutes at the time of the call.
First responders performed rescue breathing and transported her to Dayton Children’s Hospital, where she died. She would have been a high school freshman this fall.
“She was a rare gem in the rough of middle school because she was bubbly and joyful every single day,” said Lori Barker, another of Jones’ middle school teachers. “She lived the motto of ‘be your best self’ every single day. She will be truly missed.”
It’s a doubly difficult loss, King added, because Jones’ mother worked for their school district.
“She just had a bubbly personality that was infectious,” King said of Jones. “She always had a way of making people smile.”
The Middletown City School District is offering counseling for students, staff and parents in the district who struggle to deal with the loss.
The Aqua Adventures Water Park remained closed Wednesday as the investigation into Jones’ death continued.
A funeral GoFundMe has been set up for Mykiara Jones' family.
