Woman likely drowned in hotel pool in downtown Spokane

A woman was found floating unconscious in the outdoor pool of the Centennial Hotel in downtown Spokane on Tuesday afternoon, police say.

Emergency crews responded to a drowning at the hotel, the former Red Lion at the Park, 303 W. North River Drive, just before 3 p.m. Medics arrived and performed CPR but were unable to revive the woman, Spokane police spokeswoman Cpl. Teresa Fuller said.

“Medics did the best job they could to try to resuscitate the person,” Fuller said.

Police cannot confirm if the death was a drowning, but the Spokane County Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy Wednesday to determine the cause and manner of death as well as release the woman’s identity.

The hotel did not have a lifeguard on duty at the time the woman died, according to Matt Jensen, spokesman for Davenport Hotels, which owns the Centennial Hotel. The pool had a lifeguard on duty until last fall, when a water slide was taken out and the hotel was no longer required to maintain a lifeguard position.

Investigators looked at the hotel’s surveillance footage and determined the death was an accident, Fuller said.