WRAL Investigates: Mother says missed pool inspection cost her daughter's life

Michelle Rosoff's 17-year-old daughter, Rachel, died in 2016 while working as a lifeguard at a local pool.

Posted 10:00 p.m. May 9 — Updated 10:38 p.m. May 9

Sarah Krueger

, WRAL investigative reporter

WAKE COUNTY, N.C. — Before opening for the season, pools in Wake County undergo a series of tests by county inspectors to check everything from water quality to pool signage.

Absent from their checks is an electrical inspection, despite Raleigh mom Michelle Rosoff lobbying for one for nearly eight years.

Rosoff's 17-year-old daughter, Rachel, died in 2016 while working as a lifeguard at a local pool.

According to Rachel's autopsy, she was electrocuted by currents in the water. WRAL has reported the issue was due to a faulty grounding wire that hadn't been inspected in 37 years.

"To many, it was just a random accident," Rosoff said. "And that's not the case. I hate to say it, but I won’t be surprised if it happens again in North Carolina."

DHHS calls for changes to pool inspections after electrocution of lifeguard

The WRAL Investigates team filed a records request for all pool inspections performed in Wake County in 2023 and received hundreds of pages of documents after several months of waiting. The inspection reports show the most common violation found at local pools was not following guidance regarding emergency phones on-site.

Jessica Sanders, environmental health program manager for Wake County, told WRAL Investigates that basic electrical checks are done by county inspectors while they perform their other checks.

"We do look for potential imminent hazards related to the bonding wire," she said. "We’re not electrical inspectors by any means. We’re just looking for potential hazards that may have happened since last pool season and may require the operator to have an electrical inspection conducted if we see something potentially dangerous ... we may hold up the inspection, it may not pass, if we do see something that needs to be checked out by an electrical inspector."

WRAL Investigates asked why the county does not do more thorough electrical inspections and hire people trained to perform them.

"We’re registered environmental health specialists … it’s not in our public swimming pool rules as far as electrical safety. A couple years ago the state did advise us at least while we’re doing our opening inspection we could look for potential safety concerns," Sanders said.

After her daughter's death, Rosoff lobbied the General Assembly for a state law that would mandate electrical inspections, but it did not pass.

"They never voted on it," she said. "Which I didn’t understand. Because it isn’t bipartisan. It’s safety. I think it’s because people don’t want to pay for pool inspections."

Instead, Rosoff turned her attention somewhere she could make a difference -- in the lives of parents who had also lost their children.

Together with Traci Watson, whose son, Hunter, died from a fentanyl overdose in 2017, the moms founded "Pangels" - Parents of Angels. The group hosts monthly meet-ups and four weekend retreats a year, free to all those who participate.

"The stories are different," Watson said. "But the end game is the same. We’re living without our child ... until you’re walking in these shoes, you don’t get it. You absolutely do not get it until you’re walking in these shoes."

Pangels provides a safe space for the parents to speak openly about their grief and share memories of their children, something Rosoff, a therapist by training, said bereaved parents yearn to do.

"[Sometimes people will think] I don’t want to bring her up because I don’t want to remind you that she died. I’m like, you think I forgot? I never forget," Rosoff said. "You just remind me that she lived. I’m never going to forget it, you know?"

WRAL Investigates asked the city of Durham for electrical inspections it has performed on its city-owned pools since 2020. In response, WRAL was told only Long Meadow Pool had been inspected, in 2023, and a number of issues were identified.

The pool is now permanently closed due to its age and repairs that would be needed.

According to a spokesperson for the Durham Parks Department, electrical issues, among other concerns prompted that permanent closure:

"To comply with current regulations and ordinance would require bringing all elements into compliance at a replacement estimate in 2022 dollars of up to $8.9M. The pool is far beyond the industry standard and its location in a flood plain will continue to cause these same issues in the future."

WRAL News asked Durham County what kinds of electrical inspections, if any, are performed on pools. A spokesperson for the Health Department said "a visual inspection of the copper bonding wire at the pump motor is performed by our team."

In Cumberland County, chief building official Michael Naylor said electrical inspections are only done when a pool first opens and when there are permits for changes to a pool.

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