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Aug 202012
 

PAGE, Ariz. (AP) “ヤ Authorities say the body of an apparent drowning victim has been recovered from Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah border.

Officials with the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area say 26-year-old Colby Roman was reported missing May 25.

The Scottsdale, Ariz., resident and a friend decided to go for a swim while their houseboat drifted.

Witnesses say high winds pushed the boat away from the swimmers and Roman tried to help his friend.

The remaining three people on the boat were able to save that man, but they say Roman slipped under the water and couldn’t be located.

After a 26-day search, Roman’s body was located Wednesday at a depth of more than 260 feet by a remote unit equipped with sonar and video.

The National Park Service is investigating the death.

Aug 202012
 

Dive teams recovered the body of a 21-year-old Turkish woman Thursday night who drowned along with her friend Wednesday in Lake Powell.

At about 6:30 p.m., dive teams found Betul Eryildirim, 21, in 30 feet of water, close to where the other woman was found a day prior.

Kane County sheriff’s Sgt. Alan Alldredge said a boater discovered the body of Merve Tokel, also 21, floating face down in the lake on the Utah-Arizona border about 3:45 p.m. Wednesday. Witnesses told investigators that Tokel had last been seen with Eryildirim swimming near a beach in Crappie Cove, not far from Bullfrog Marina.

“Both just walked down to the beach to swim for a couple of hours,” Alldredge said.

Deputies, divers and a helicopter had looked for Eryildirim into Wednesday evening before suspending the search, which resumed Thursday morning and continued into the afternoon. The Lake Powell National Park Service dive team and a Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter assisted the Sheriff’s Office.

Alldredge said the victims’ bodies have been sent to the Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office for further investigation. Foul play was not suspected. Since there were no witnesses, police can only assume they were accidental drownings.

Alldredge said the two Turkish women were employed for the summer by Aramark, a national food service company, and working in the Bullfrog area at a concession stand at the park. The women were good friends, with their birth dates only eight days apart, according to the Kane County Sheriff’s Office.

Aug 072012
 

TUCSON – A 10-month old girl is in critical condition after nearly drowning in a bathtub this afternoon – the woman who was watching her has been charged with Child Abuse.

Tucson Fire and Tucson Police responded to an apartment in the 3600 block of north Campbell Avenue at about 2:45 p.m. Tuesday afternoon after a 10-month old girl was found unconscious and not breathing in a bathtub full of water. TFD personnel immediately performed CPR and rushed the child to a local hospital.

The child remains in critical condition in the hospital.

Upon investigation, detectives from TPD’s Dependent Child Unit learned that 27-year-old Zada Davis was caring for the baby, as well as her 7-year-old child, and another 8-month old baby.

Davis put the baby in the bathtub sometime between 2 p.m, and 2:30 p.m., leaving the water running with toys in the tub, TPD officials state. She then began doing other things around the house, leaving the child alone in the bathroom. After about 10 minutes, Davis returned and found the bathtub overflowing, with the child floating in the water.

Davis pulled the baby out of the tub and called 911, and a neighbor performed CPR until Tucson Fire personnel arrived. The other children in the house were not involved in the incident.

As a result of the investigation, Davis was arrested and charged with one count of felony Child Abuse and booked into Pima County Jail.

Aug 072012
 

GILBERT, AZ – A five-year-old boy died Sunday after being pulled from a community pool in Gilbert .

The accident happened Saturday at a neighborhood pool near Baseline and Val Vista.

Gilbert police tell ABC15, Clayden Hammond was found face down in the pool. The boy died at the hospital.

“He was still as a statue,” said Bella Padilla who tried to save the boy’s life.

That was was one of the first signs that caught the attention of seven-year-old Bella.

She said the five-year-old was under water for three or four minutes.

“I was like dad, he’s scaring me. I just kept coming closer and closer. My dad went over there and nudged him,” said Bella.

“He was hovering just above the surface of the pool, face first, lifeless. I didn’t get a response from him so I knew he wasn’t with us,” said Bella’s father Louis Padilla.

It was at that point Padilla, a decorated war hero, knew he had to move quickly.

“I brought him to the side of the pool and right away we started doing CPR on him. We never got a heartbeat, he had no response. He had a lot of water in him,” said Louis.

According to the Gilbert police department, Hammond was visiting from New Mexico. He came in town to visit his grandparents.

Witnesses tell ABC15 his grandparents were in the pool when the incident happened.

Aug 072012
 

GILBERT, AZ – A 5-year-old New Mexico boy has died after being pulled from a community pool in the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert.

Gilbert Fire spokesman Brian Ruffentine said the child was found in the main pool at the Val Vista Lakes Clubhouse near Baseline and Val Vista roads.

Gilbert police said Sunday that 5-year-old Clayden Hammond was with his older brother and grandmother at the pool when he was found unconscious Saturday.

Ruffentine said it was unknown how long the boy had been in the water.

Adults at the scene started CPR before firefighters arrived.

He was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and taken off life support overnight.

It’s unclear how the boy drowned in the pool, which was filled with other families.

Clayden, his brother and their parents were visiting the Phoenix area from New Mexico.

Police did not know where in New Mexico they were from.

Aug 072012
 

PEORIA, AZ – Authorities say two brothers have drowned at Lake Pleasant.

A spokesman with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said one brother was having difficulty while swimming and the other tried to help him.

Chris Hegstrom said both ended up drowning.

The bodies were recovered by divers 9 feet below the surface.

The brothers were identified as Thanh “Matt” Nguyen, 20, and Dan, 19.

Aug 072012
 

A 4-year-old boy had a close call in a community pool in Maricopa mid-afternoon Sunday.

The unidentified boy was swimming with family members in the Villages subdivision near John Wayne Parkway and Smith Enke Road when he began to struggle.

“He went under and took a couple of big gulps of water, and family members pulled him out of the pool,” said Jon Sheaffer, a firefighter and spokesman with the Maricopa Fire Department.

Family members began CPR, and the boy coughed and vomited. He was taken to Cardon Children’s Medical Center in Mesa to be checked out as a precaution.

“It was fortunate, not necessarily that it happened, but that his family members were keeping an eye on him, or else it could have been tragic,” Sheaffer said.

Maricopa firefighters go into schools to deliver messages about fire and water safety.

“Whether that program had an impact, I can’t say … but it brings awareness,” Sheaffer said.

“Even if it’s a matter of seconds, keep your eyes on your little ones and other people’s little ones.”

Aug 072012
 

PHOENIX – A 1-year-old boy is in extremely critical condition after being found in the family pool Tuesday.

Air15 captured video of the home near 35th Avenue and Thunderbird. You could see the house has green and murky pool water and a short fence.

Fire officials said five adults lost track of the boy until they found him in the pool.

A neighbor heard the commotion and jumped over the wall to help the baby.

Firefighters said a dog attacked the neighbor as he tried to perform CPR, but he’s expected to be okay.

The circumstances of how the toddler got in the pool are still unclear.

Firefighters performed CPR on the boy before transporting him to the hospital.

Aug 072012
 

PEORIA, AZ – Authorities said they have found the body of a man who drowned at Lake Pleasant Saturday.

The man went missing after he and two other men stole two canoes from the Maricopa County Flood District.

Peoria police spokesman Jay Davies said the three men were out at the lake Saturday when they stole the canoes.

One man got into a canoe by himself and somehow fell out and the other two jumped out of the second canoe into the water after him.

Davies said there was a struggle among the three men, and the man who had fallen into the lake went under water and did not resurface.

Police started searching for the man Saturday night, but did not find his body until Sunday morning.

The other two men Edwardo Mercado, and Julian Tamayo were able to swim to shore and were detained by people from a private lodge nearby until police arrived.

The two men were taken to a local hospital for dehydration.

Davies said both men were from El Mirage, one 20 years old and the other 26.

They were taken into custody and possibly face theft or burglary and trespassing charges, according to Davies.

Davies said an investigation continues into whether this was an accidental drowning or a possible homicide.

Aug 072012
 

GILBERT, AZ – A 1-year-old girl is in extremely critical condition after falling in a backyard pool Monday night in Gilbert.

Gilbert Fire Department spokesman Mike Connor said the girl’s family lost track of her until someone went outside and found her in the pool.

Air15 captured video of the home near Power and Queen Creek roads. Police crews on scene were trying to determine the circumstances of how the girl got into the pool.

The family started CPR until fire crews arrived. It’s unclear how long she was in the water.

Firefighters said the house did not have a pool fence.

The girl was flown to Cardon Children’s Medical Center in extremely critical condition.