The bodies of two people who drowned in separate incidents over the weekend in Lake Lewisville have been found, Fire Chief Mark McNeal said.
One of the victims was a 23-year-old woman, the other a 25-year-old man.
The woman had fallen off a boat near Sunset Point in Highland Village shortly before 3 p.m. Sunday, McNeal said.
Crews from the fire department, Texas Game Wardens and Army Corps of Engineers responded. They were able to find her body using sonar just after 7 p.m., according to McNeal.
The man had gone under the water shortly before 7:48 p.m. Sunday at Lake Park near the swim beach. The fire department and the Texas Game Wardens began to search for him with divers and using sonar, but were unable to find him before nightfall, McNeal said.
They stopped the search shortly before 10 p.m. Officials with the game wardens found his body Monday morning and both departments worked to recover it around 8 a.m., according to McNeal.
Earlier in the summer, MedStar had reported a rise in drownings in Tarrant County and released a number of tips to prevent them from happening.
Learn to swim and teach your children to swim:
- Enroll in age-appropriate water orientation and learn-to-swim courses, as well as first aid and CPR courses.
- Local YMCAs and other locations such as Emler’s Swimming School offer classes for kids as young as 2 months old.
Practice safe habits in and around the water:
- Teach children to always ask permission to go near water.
- Remove floats, balls and other toys from the pool and surrounding area immediately after use.
- The presence of these toys may encourage children to enter the pool area or lean over the pool and potentially fall in.
- Know when to call 911.
Know how to respond to a water emergency:
- Learn CPR. CPR performed by bystanders has been shown to save lives and improve outcomes in drowning victims.
- The more quickly CPR is started, the better the chance of improved outcomes.
- If a child is missing, check the water first
- If someone is in the water and needs help, reach or throw something out to them
- Don’t go in unless you are trained.
- If the drowning is in a lake, find a landmark where the victim went underwater that is not subject to wind or tides.
- Knowing where exactly to start a search will speed the process.
- Have rescue and first aid equipment available at the pool.
- Such as reaching or throwing equipment, a cell phone, life jackets, and a first aid kit
Actively supervise children whenever around water – even if lifeguards are present:
- Momentary distractions such as phone calls, using the restroom, or someone at the door can provide enough time for a child to access the pool and quietly slip underwater.
- Use a designated adult to be responsible for actively watching the pool or lake area.
- Even use a visual cue for who is the designated watcher such having the water supervisor carry a life jacket as a reminder for both the watcher and those around them to prevent them from becoming distracted.
If you have a pool, secure it with appropriate barriers:
- Many children who drown in home pools were out of sight for less than five minutes and in the care of one or both parents at the time. Install a four-sided barrier, such as a fence with self-closing gates completely surrounding the pool.
- If the house forms the fourth side of the barrier, install alarms on doors leading to the pool area to prevent children from wandering into the pool or spa. Also install safety covers and perimeter or in-water alarms as additional layers of protection.
