A grandmother has been charged with unlawful conduct toward a minor for endangering her granddaughter’s life, and the story is even worse than it initially seems.
The Berkely 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 call around midday on Tuesday, which involved a stranded jet ski rider and her 12-year-old granddaughter. The 53-year-old grandmother, Anne Lachell Sellers, told authorities that her granddaughter tried to swim back to shore after the pair became stranded on their personal watercraft (PWC).
But this wasn’t the whole truth.
After a preliminary investigation, it was found that Sellers and her granddaughter went out on separate jet skis, and one of the units began to malfunction. Then, the pair became stranded before Sellers told her granddaughter to swim back to shore. At the time, there were strong currents, high winds, and known wildlife threats in the area, so asking a child to swim in these conditions is grossly negligent, at a minimum.
After deploying multiple marine vessels and drones, the 12-year-old was found in marshland about 600 yards from the boat ramp. She had suffered cuts and abrasions to her arms and legs and was taken to a local hospital for treatment and further evaluation. As a result of what deputies learned, Sellers was booked into the Hill-Finklea Detention Center, and she’s now awaiting a bond hearing.
“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.”
