West Bloomfield Family Not Tied to Twitter Campaign for Boat Accident Victim

A Twitter.com hashtag that started trending nationally and in Detroit asking pop star Taylor Swift to visit the surviving victim of a boat accident on Sylvan Lake did not come from the child's family. 

The Oakland Press reported Thursday that a family friend said the Mansour family of West Bloomfield had nothing to do with the campaign. They have requested privacy ever since Alexander, 11, Adriana, 10, and Gabrielle, 6, were injured after a boat hit the inner tube their father, John, pulled with a personal watercraft Sunday afternoon.

Alexander died Sunday; Gabrielle succumbed to her injuries on Monday. Adriana remains at Beaumont Hospital in critical condition, and the Twitter campaign centers around Swift visiting her. 

Also on Thursday, the Detroit Free Press reported that Sylvan Lake officials have engaged the Oakland County Sheriff's Department (OCSD) to patrol the lake, starting Saturday. Patrols were dropped in 2010, when budget cuts led the OCSD to charge cities for patrols, according to the Free Press story. 

A funeral service for Alexander and Gabrielle Mansour will be held Friday, 12 p.m., at Mother of God Chaldean Catholic Church in Southfield.