Mother of 2-year-old who drowned faces abuse charge

A woman faces an abuse charge after her 2-year-old son drowned in August in a north Las Vegas Valley hot tub.

Vanessa Loftis, 34, surrendered to police Thursday and was booked on one count of child abuse and neglect with substantial bodily harm, police said. She is being held at the Clark County Detention Center.

First responders were called about 4:15 p.m. Aug. 3 to a pool at Tivoli apartment complex in the 4600 block of North Rainbow Boulevard, near the intersection with Lone Mountain Road.

There they found Israel Hall lifeless in a hot tub, police said.

He was pronounced dead at Mountain View Hospital.

Israel struggled in the water for "several minutes" before he stopped moving, police said. He had been playing in the tub with older children, but they stepped out and he fell into the deep end.

Before going to in the bath tub, Israel was swimming with Loftis in the pool, police said. She discovered the boy about 15 minutes later.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Contact Ricardo Torres at rtorres@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find him on Twitter: @rickytwrites.