dad saves kid but drowns himself.

[matthewb0051]

Unfortunately, I've seen this before. Had to investigate a drowning of 2 Soldiers in Hawaii back in 2011 or thereabouts. Four of them had walked into the ocean out to an Island known as Chinaman's hat. Two were non-swimmers. As they were walking back to the Oahu in the water, one person veered off the path and started going under. He ultimately drowned.

That caused one of the non-swimmers to freak out and pull down one of the swimmers, drowning him. A person on a kayak saw the incident and helped out, saving one of the non-swimmers.

Horrible situation compounded afterwards by the command trying to figure out why the Soldiers had not told anyone they were going into the ocean on a Holiday weekend. Imagine living on an island and needing to tell your boss you are getting in the ocean over the weekend. There was even talk about requiring Soldiers to take their fatigue pants to the beach so they could use them as a PFD when swimming.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Back in the days of B&W TVs I was in the boy scouts. At summer camp, they said we all had to learn to float in the lake. I was a very skinny and active kid, with all muscle and very low body fat. I just sank like a rock. Several instructors held me at the surface, and let go, and down I went. Every councilor tried to get me to float, and I just sank. They were all puzzled until the old grey said "he is too skinny to float".

I could tread water with just my hands or just my legs, and swim like a fish. Floating was not an option for me. They allowed me to earn my swimming merit badge even though I could not float. The old grey said you will never teach a rock to float.

Yeah, as a kid (through my 20s) I thought "WTF is up with people floating?" I could never float, and that includes in salt water.

Finally, in my 30s and 40s at my parents place where they had a salt water pool was the first time that I could float. I guess I'd developed enough fat to float (and the salt water helps).

[masraum]

Horrible story, the original post.

Damn shame no PFD. I've taken the oldest grandson on the local river when he was 7 and 8, once in a large inflatable boat (meant to carry 6 or 8 people), and then another time in a canoe. We all wore PFD, and it's a VERY lazy river. But no way in hell am I living with the thought that I was the man in charge when my grandson died because I didn't put him in in PFD.

[jhynesrockmtn]

I trained in college as a life guard although I never was employed as one. I grew up near a small lake with a swimming area and a bunch of buddies from high school were out one day. The group swam from the main dock to a small floating dock, maybe about 20 feet. Billy Nixon was a football player and very strong, but apparently not a swimmer. He tried to follow the others but I could see he was struggling and starting to go down. I jumped in, put him in a rescue position and got him back to the dock. That kid was not a floater. All muscle!

[Evans, Marv]

In 1969 I was working for the Natl. Park Svc. in Sequoia when we got a report of a drowning down on the Kawea River at a picknic area. The river was swollen and running wild from the wet winter runoff. A five year old girl had slipped into the river and gone down river. The father went in after her and went down the river. Then the 16 year old son went in to save the father and went down the river. A telephone worker recovered the little girl's body in a whirl pool a ilttle way down the river. We recovered the son's body later that day and kept looking for the father. The next day we were going down the river (two guys on each side) when the guys on the other side readioed another person in the river & coming down. He passed by us quickly and we ran down river to try to catch up with him. We finally recovered him later that day but never found the father. Out of the family of four, only the mother was left. It was really sad.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

The water flows smoothest in the middle of the river, if the river is deep that smooth water flow is about 6 ft underwater. Diving off a boat with NO PFD is an invitation to disaster. The flowing water will keep you deep and you need to slowly power up to the surface to survive. Add a nearby whirlpool and you got a real problem.

[Steve Carlton]

Angie didn't need no stinkin' PDF.