When I first saw this case in the summer of '91 it was not on UM but something else(for some reason I am thinking it was the show was 20/20 but that does not seem right).

I saw the UM broadcast more recently. Her name was Krystal Merzlock, and the incident in the deep pool happened in 1982. Anyway I need my usual details of place and specific date. What town/state did this happen in, and what part of 1982 did it occour? Is this one of the stories on the miracles DVD set under the episode titled Angels?

All I remember was her awful hair. I think she was a teen when the segment aired, but had a granny perm that was fried with hairspray. I know it was the ‘80s, but…. Eeeeeeeek!

They should make a "Fashion Disaster" DVD of Unsolved Mysteries! Lord knows they'd have a mountain to pick from! :happyface

Hi,
below is info re; Kristle Merzlock and what I could scrounge up for you. I bleieve the episode was on "Sightings" and I have copied and pasted some info, and also have some links for you to check out. Hope this helps!!
Kath

Video Tape Number 3
Program Number 11

From The Television Series Unsolved Mysteries
NDEs
From 02.14.05 To 02.34.03 Lasting 00.19.58

Hosted by Robert Stack

Interviews with Kristle Merzlock
Melvin Morse, M.D.
Michael Merzlock
Kathy Merzlock
Glen O. Gabbard, M.D.
Raymond Moody, M.D.
Thomas Sawyer
Bruce Greyson, M.D.
Elaine Sawyer

Recorded off the air in VHS PAL MONO HIFI/MONO NORMAL SP
from an unknown source
in English



Sightings air date:
# 1st Season Spring 1992 (Fox, 30 min)

# 1- 1 39107 17 Apr 92 Near Death Experience: Life after death and near-death experiences

http://www.glowingdial.com/audiofiles.htm

http://epguides.com/Sightings/


http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=crystal+Merzlock+%2B+near+death+experience&btnG=Search

A couple of teenage boys pushed her into a pool and walked off. She started swallowing water and she drowned. I was so angry that those boys did that to her! Where were the adults? I can't imagine leaving a 7 year old at a pool with no supervision.

Tap Dancer,

I wondered the same thing. How were these teenage boys permitted push a little girl into the deep end of the pool and just let her drown? Where was everyone? Wasn't anyone supervising the children? Were the boys ever held accountable for nearly killing her? So many unanswered questions with these cases...

I won't rule out NDE as a possibility, but she just didn't seem to look too truthful to me. Just looked like she was lying with her expressions and what she said. Scripted too.

I won't rule out NDE as a possibility, but she just didn't seem to look too truthful to me. Just looked like she was lying with her expressions and what she said. Scripted too.

Old thread...but I saw this case recently. I don't know why, but I got a similar vibe about Merzlock being untruthful.

Did anyone else feel the same way?

A couple of teenage boys pushed her into a pool and walked off. She started swallowing water and she drowned. I was so angry that those boys did that to her! Where were the adults? I can't imagine leaving a 7 year old at a pool with no supervision.


OK, I found some video of Crystal on the site that must not be mentioned. The title is in German, but it is in English with German subtitles. I don't personally think her hair is all that much worse than the average teen in 1982. If you didn't live through it (the big hair of the 1980s, not a drowning) you couldn't possibly understand the horrors that existed. And they were all around us. My only saving grace was that even permed, my hair refused to be big.

I don't see anything dishonest about her. According to articles I've read, the discovery of her near death experience was the result of a casual comment she made a week after her non-fatal drowning. I think something happened, whether it was physiological, psychological, spiritual or some combination of the three, that I cannot say.

I've seen and experienced things that most skeptics would call BS on. I am a woman of science. However, I also know that science is not the facts of life and nature, but the facts of life and nature as we currently understand them.

--------------
Believe it or not, MANY drownings/near drownings in pools happen when adults are nearby, sometimes a fair number of adults. All of the adults assume that one of the other adults is keeping an eye on the pool. After a number of fairly high profile incidents (generally at parties at very wealthy people's homes) where I lived as a child, people actually started hiring lifeguards and/or babysitters for parties. They still do to this day. Local parks and recreation departments will actually provide contact information (with the lifeguards' permission of course) for lifeguards that can be hired for private events.

We make it a point when we're someplace in a group and the kids are swimming of verbally passing the "lifeguard" torch. It probably sounds silly to people around us, but if the person who has been "on duty" (even though we're really pretty much all watching the kids and the pool) leaves to hit the loo or grab a beverage, they will look at someone else and say "Keep an eye on the pool, I'll be back." and the other person will confirm.

I recommend other people use similar diligence. It is SO easy to let your mind or eyes wander, especially when there's a group of adults. It's a psychological phenomenon called diffusion of responsibility. This is commonly taught in psych 101 with the Kitty Genovese story (although much of the story of diffusion of responsibility in her death has since been disproven)

Here are some statistics:
http://www.backyard-lifeguards.com/prepare/water-safety-statistics/

Of particular interest:
-according to some studies, more than 75% of child drowning victims were out of sight for less than 5 minutes
-drowning is usually silent and can occur in as little as 20 seconds
-only 6% of parents say they do nothing else when they are supervising their children in a pool (No reading, no talking on the phone, no talking to other people)

To further illustrate this point, in 1985, a 31 year old man drowned at a party thrown by lifeguards to celebrate a drowning free season. In addition to many lifeguards attending the party, they actually had 4 lifeguards on duty.
http://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/02/us/victim-at-lifeguards-party.html


Wow. I've gotten pretty well off topic, but I saw this as a teachable moment for a topic I am passionate about.

Tap Dancer,

I wondered the same thing. How were these teenage boys permitted push a little girl into the deep end of the pool and just let her drown? Where was everyone? Wasn't anyone supervising the children? Were the boys ever held accountable for nearly killing her? So many unanswered questions with these cases...

She does mention "a group of boys pushed me in, but they didn't know it". Possible accident. I almost drowned once and it wasn't like the movies. I remember treading and trying to bounce. It was at a full swimming pool and no one noticed until my friend saved me.

She does mention "a group of boys pushed me in, but they didn't know it". Possible accident. I almost drowned once and it wasn't like the movies. I remember treading and trying to bounce. It was at a full swimming pool and no one noticed until my friend saved me.

OT

Charlie, I had a similar thing happen to me when I was 8. We had a round, above ground, backyard pool that was 6 feet deep in the center and 4 feet deep around the edges. I grew up with pools and was a strong swimmer.

Our backyard was very small, only 33 feet wide, and the houses were very close together. My parents were in the yard talking to a neighbor over the chain link fence while my friend and I were swimming in the pool.

She couldn't swim, so was wearing a full life vest. When we got to the center of the pool and she couldn't touch bottom anymore, she started panicking. Instead of letting the life vest float her along, she jumped on my shoulders and pushed me under. She never called for my parents.

I touched the bottom with my feet, then sprung up with her hanging on to me, yelled "HELP", took a breath, went back under and kept repeating, until I made my way to the shallower water.

I told her off and got out of the pool, marched over to my parents, who were still talking to the neighbor, and asked why in the heck they ignored my screams for help. My mom said, "Oh, we though you were just playing." My parents got told off too. lol

On a related note, Melvin Morse, one of the doctors interviewed in this segment, was recently sent to prison for waterboarding his 11-year old stepdaughter:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/doctor-going-to-prison-for-waterboarding-girl-11/

I've got a horrid feeling this guy took the concept of near-death experiences WAY too seriously and was experimenting to see if this girl would have any heavenly visions if he came close to killing her.

On a related note, Melvin Morse, one of the doctors interviewed in this segment, was recently sent to prison for waterboarding his 11-year old stepdaughter:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/doctor-going-to-prison-for-waterboarding-girl-11/

I've got a horrid feeling this guy took the concept of near-death experiences WAY too seriously and was experimenting to see if this girl would have any heavenly visions if he came close to killing her.


Wow. That's a very ugly turn of events.

Upon reflection, I just wonder if she had told the story so many times at that point, it just sounded rehearsed. I know it's all subjective, but her whole line about not being dead just didn't sound natural. Just my perception.

I read the thread title and started laughing hysterically. Can't help it.

Upon reflection, I just wonder if she had told the story so many times at that point, it just sounded rehearsed. I know it's all subjective, but her whole line about not being dead just didn't sound natural. Just my perception.


Due to her age at the time and the trauma to her brain and the passage of time, it could be that she doesn't really remember the event but only remembers telling the story of the event OR how the adults in her world told her what happened. In that case, she might not sound as "invested" in the story when she tells it.

I don't know if this can be verified, but there is a "Kristle Merzlock Westover" on Facebook who may be the girl (now woman) from this segment. It's hard to determine from a head shot, but I'm 60-70% sure.

Hey ramirez412001, is that a current mugshot of Strickland in your Avatar? :eek:

Maybe it is her :)

I read the thread title and started laughing hysterically. Can't help it.You shouldnt be laughing,you should be thankful her guardian angel spirit helped her out of this situation :)


We all have a spirit guide.....

Hey ramirez412001, is that a current mugshot of Strickland in your Avatar? :eek:

Yes, (2013, anyway) and I used his defense quote, because every time I see that update, I laugh. What a creep.

Here's Rich Church in case you like that better...