Dead Two-year old on North Coast, August 4

An investigation is continuing on the North Oregon Coast into the death of a two-year old girl, and serious injuries to her 13-year old sister. The girls’ mother, 40-year old Jessica Smith, of Godlendale, WA, was arrested Sunday. She was initially described by investigators as a “person of interest” in the homicide. The two children were found in a third floor room at the Surfsand Resort in Cannon Beach Friday, August 1. The two-year old was already dead, and her sister was transported to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland where she is listed in stable condition. Police Chief Jason Schermerhorn calls the attack on the two the “most heinous crime” Cannon Beach has seen in a long time. Smith, divorced from the girls’ father, was supposed to meet him at the coast to give him the girls.