3 Generations Drown in Lake Accident

Bodies of boy and his mother, uncle, grandmother found in tragedy
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 27, 2014 12:11 PM CDT
3 Generations Drown in Lake Accident
Rescue personnel search Henry Hagg Lake, a reservoir in Gaston, Ore., west of Portland, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2014.   (AP Photo/Gosia Wozniacka)

Searchers in an Oregon lake recovered four bodies in what seems to have been a tragic accident: Three generations of the same family apparently drowned. People fishing in Henry Hagg Lake, located in a Washington County park that, police say, draws up to 10,000 people per day, first noticed an unconscious 3-year-old boy near the shore Monday. Despite their efforts to perform CPR and the arrival of fire crews, Jeremy Scholl died, the Oregonian reports. But he didn't appear to have been alone: Officials found four pairs of shoes at the edge of the lake and a dog wandering nearby, no owners in sight. Other abandoned items including a towel, a cooler, and a phone also hinted there were other people to be found.

An initial search revealed no one in the woods or water. But a call to the boy's aunt revealed that relatives had gone to the lake and hadn't been heard from since, and the following day, divers recovered three more bodies: those of the boy's mother, Gabriela Garcia-Ixtacua, 25; his uncle, Michael Garcia-Ixtacua, 13; and his grandmother, Jova Ixtacua-Castano, 42. Authorities saw no indication of foul play. "This appears to be a tragic incident where someone likely got into trouble in the water and others attempted to help them," an officer says, per KGW. "Detectives are still searching for any answers." (In a happier turn of events this year, another child was underwater in a Utah river for 20 minutes—and survived.)

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