Family Sues Hotel After Girl, 8, Dies After Being 'Violently Sucked' Into Pool Pipe

According to a wrongful death lawsuit filed Monday by Aliyah's mother Daniela against Hilton and Unique Crowne Hospitality, the hotel's local operator, "tragedy struck" during the family's visit to the DoubleTree by Hilton on Saturday.

Per the filing, the family rented a room at the hotel "to enjoy a day of swimming," when the child, "who loved to swim, was violently sucked into a 12-to-16 inch unsecured open gap in the swimming pool flow system of the hotels' lazy river."

The wrongful death suit lays out the alleged timeline of events, saying Aliyah "suddenly disappeared" around 4:50pm that evening. While "frantically searching" for her daughter, the girl's mom said she asked hotel management to look at surveillance footage around 5:20pm and was denied access and told "police would have to be present to view" the video. Daniela then reported the child missing at 5:45 and, after authorities arrived, says they were "finally granted access to view the security footage" -- which showed Aliyah going underwater and never returning to the surface.

With the help of Texas Equusearch, working with the police and the fire department, the pool was drained and video cameras were attached to 20-foot poles to "inspect the pipes when her body was discovered wedged in the pipes of the malfunctioning pool equipment," reads the suit. According to reports, it took a total of 13 hours to recover her body.

"She was wedged in there so very, very tight," said Tim Miller of Texas EquuSearch. "I don't think she decided, 'I am going to swim in here and see what's here."

The pipe was allegedly pulling water in, instead of pushing it out. A Houston Health Department inspection done Monday also found "multiple violations." The report specifically called out "32 inch channel drains on the walls," which didn't have "a valid document stating their function, date of installation and date of expiration."

Hilton issued a statement to ABC 13 saying, "Hilton offers our sincere condolences to the family and loved ones for the tragic loss of a young girl at the DoubleTree by Hilton Houston Brookhollow. This property is independently owned and operated by a third party. Hilton does not own, manage, or control the day-to-day operations of the property and does not employ any of the property's staff or its third-party operators."

The girl's mother, Daniela, paid tribute to her daughter on Facebook over the weekend in a heartbreaking post. On Monday, she also shared the final photo of her with Aliyah, showing the pair beside a pool.

"They say we all have our destiny marked... but I can't understand why yours was like this. Thank you my love for the 8 years you gave me by your side. Thank you my girl for teaching me what love is and a noble heart," she wrote, via translation. "I still don't accept that you won't be here anymore, I don't have to pretend. I hope to see you again one day and you'll keep looking at me and you'll get that big smile that was contagious with joy."

"I will love you for all eternity. You are the most beautiful thing God has given me and after every battle we went through together we didn't win this one," she concluded.