I don't know the family. From what I have read and heard, the boy was only 9 years old. There were other folks fishing who saw the incident. Both the father and son were swimming to shore. The other paddlers came to lend assistance in the rescue. The father encouraged the son to push on as fast as he could. The other paddlers assisted the son out of the water. In the meanwhile, the father had gone under. It's terribly sad. The son and the rescuers did what they should have. The father did what he should have by encouraging his son. From what little I know, the only conclusion I can draw is that it all came down to not wearing a PFD. I have no information about why he wasn't wearing it, and because of the terrible consequences in this situation I refuse to engage in conjecture.
- Big D |