Two Charged In Connection To Drowned Local Child

Two Weirton residents, 29 year old Ashley Shelton and 34 year old Joshua Lockerbie, were arrested on Wednesday in connection with the drowning of Reese Hanshaw in the Ohio River last month. Hanshaw was a 13 year old girl from Burgettstown. On June 30, police said the pair brought six children, as young as 4 and as old as 13, to swim in the river near the Veterans Memorial Bridge. According to Weirton Police, Officer Adam Mortimer responded quickly and entered the river to bring Reese ashore. Life-saving efforts were immediately performed by first responders transporting Reese to Weirton Medical Center, where she later died. Family members said that Reese was pulled away by the current while trying to help her younger cousin out of the water. Authorities said there were no flotation devices, and both Lockerbie and Shelton knew that none of the children were strong swimmers. They’ve been charged with child neglect causing death and gross neglect of a child creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury. They’re being held in a West Virginia jail on $150,000 bail.