Ashley Marie Shelton

WEIRTON — Two Weirton residents have been charged in connection with the recent drowning death of a Burgettstown teen.

Ashley Marie Shelton, 29, and Joshua Lewis Lockerbie, 35, both of 3103 Pennsylvania Ave., were arrested by Weirton Police Wednesday, and have been charged with one felony count of child neglect causing death and five felony counts of gross neglect of a child creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.

A criminal complaint filed in the case, as well as information provided by law enforcement, states the two had taken six children, ranging in age from 4 to 13 years old, to a bank along the Ohio River near the Veterans Memorial Bridge on the evening of June 30.

Weirton Police Chief Charlie Kush said, “Due to heavy rainfall throughout the day and while they were present, the water level was high. Tragically, 13-year-old Reese Hanshaw of Burgettstown drowned after being swept away by the current.”

In the criminal complaint, police said when they arrived, they found Hanshaw face down in the water, floating about 50 yards from the riverbank.

Joshua Lewis Lockerbie

They said they attempted to revive her, performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, before she was transported to an ambulance using an all-terrain vehicle belonging to the city’s fire department.

The complaint states staff at WVU Medicine-Weirton Medical Center also attempted to revive Hanshaw, but she was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Kush said, “The investigation showed that there were no flotation devices present and that Mr. Lockerbie and Ms. Shelton knew that none of the children were strong swimmers.”

According to the complaint, Lockerbie told police he had no experience swimming in the river while Shelton said she didn’t know how to swim.

The two are being held in the West Virginia Northern Regional Jail in lieu of a $150,000 bond set for each in Brooke County Magistrate Court, where their cases are pending.

Family members have described Hanshaw as a talented youth who enjoyed drawing, crafting, creating videos and editing and loved animals.

A GoFundMe page was established by her aunt, Heather Durbin, to aid the family with funeral expenses.