Houston Woman Found Dead After Elevator Flooded
Jill Renick, who went missing on Aug. 27 at the Omni Houston Hotel during Hurricane Harvey, has been found dead on Thursday in the basement of the hotel, according to ABC13. The 48-year-old, who was the director of Spa Services for the hotel, had moved into the hotel to "ride out" Harvey, The Houston Chronicle reports, and was said to have been helping families on second floor evacuate the building due to flooding when she died.
Renick's sister, Pam Eslinger, told CBS DFW that her sister was last heard from in a frantic call to Omni Hotel's front desk, "saying ‘I’m in an elevator. The water is rushing in. Please help me.'" Eslinger said that at the height of the flooding, there was 20 feet of water in the hotel.
The hotel managers issued a statement Thursday, expressing grief over the loss of their employee. "We are communicating with the family to offer whatever assistance we can, and we are arranging grief counseling to help our associates process this shocking news. This is a difficult time for us all. We ask that you please respect everyone’s privacy as we deal with our tragic loss," the statement read. The Chronicle notes that the hotel had been looking for Renick since receiving her phone call for help, but that "rising floodwaters and a lack of power made them unable to raise the elevator."
Eslinger, who frantically called hospitals and shelters looking to find Renick in the days since she went missing, has also issued a statement on behalf of her family. "We are heartbroken. To know Jill is to have loved her. She could light up a room just by walking in and adored life. She was loved by so many people and we will feel the impact of her absence in our hearts forever."
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