Drowning at Turner Falls, August 2nd

My family was visiting Tuner Falls on Saturday when a 12 year old boy drowned there. I can't find any news on it or details of what exactly happened?

http://www.kxii.com/news/headlines/26249489.h...
I found this link... I was there with friends at the falls when it happend... SO SAD

my family was in turner falls since thursday through sunday we were in the blue hole hole when they tooks us out because a boy was drowend there miguel sosa 12 years dallas tx that;s all i know what a tradegy. i feel for his family.

I was there as well. I got the whole story, I talked to the guardian himself. The story was It wasn't there son, It was the mans son's friend. He was his neighbor's child. We stayed when everybody was told to leave and nobody told us to leave right away, so then people started to comb the Blue Hole, and ran out of people, so we helped comb the 'Hole'. We didn't find anything. So about seven of us went about a half mile downstream, and about the time we broke off, a Diver that was called from Ardmore had made it (He was a chubby, white male who looked like he really didn't wanna be there) and he was unloading getting his gear set up. They called in a search helicopter, and there were an ungodly amount of Police officers there. We turned back around after about a half mile, again with no luck. By the time we got back on the sandy beach shore we told the officers we found nothing. They didn't even acknowledge us. So we went back to the walkway connecting the sidewalk to the beach on the side of the 'Hole' and stood and watch for about 45 more mins, and nothing was found. We decided to go back to the car and get a camera because no one back in Duncan would believe this happened! By the time we got back, the chopping of the helicopter rotters had seized and there only a handful of officers left, most were just directing traffic. The diver was loading up, and we assumed that they were giving up. I was pissed, how could they give up? Maybe somebody kidnapped him, I don't know, but we got back to the more populated area by the store's and we asked somebody, what happened? She said they found him dead near the slide. I paused for a moment, just to think how this could have happened to a twelve year old, what was the friend going to tell his neighbor. The words of that man who brought the kid to the Falls was on the phone after we got done looking down stream, he was talking to someone explaining the story and he had said "I need it man, I need it big time. I need to find this kid alive."

There were so many questions running through my head after we had left, like; Why didn't they close the park after all this? Why were they still taking money from people coming into the park? Why was the first aid station closed before this even happened? Why were the fucking lifeguards NOT doing their jobs?

I believe it was entirely the lifeguards fault! There should have been two eyes on that kid the whole time he was going down, The person going down the slide (which could have been the kid's friend, and he did his job by telling his parents he didn't come up) and also the lifeguard should have been waiting for him to come up! So why didn't the lifeguard watch to see the boy come up, to know when the next kid can go? They should have been doing their job!

I was there Sat as well. I must say that I was not impressed with the life guard situation at the Blue Hole. Those rock are very slippery and there area around the diving board and slide are very deep. I think they should put bouys/rope around that area with easy latter access to climb in and out of the water. I will not be going back. There were too many people swimming that day for such a tragedy to have happened. I feel for that child and his family!

That lifeguard needs to be fired!

I also agree with everyone comments and was at that swimming hole when they asked everyone to get out....after about an hour and a half i walked away with my 10 year old daughter. I cant express what a traumatic situation that was even though all I heard was that they had found his body. I didn't see when they found him and all I kept thinking was what if that had been my daughter or her friend. I feel so bad for the family and also upset with the lifeguard situation. I think they could have done more that what they did. There were so many people out there how is it it no one noticed immediately. I don't know how this even happened. I didn't want to believe it until I heard from an actual employee the next day. Would like to attend the funeral. If anyone knows where it is being held please post it

I have to agree with everyone here about the Turner Falls incident. It seemed like no one really cared except for the child's care taker and the people visiting there. Myself and some of my girlfriend's family stayed to helped. It was amazing to see a lot of us had better hearts and judgment than the Turner Falls staff or the Davis Police Department. I mean they didn't even locked down the part until 30 to 45 minutes later. Before the boy was found he could have been kidnapped taken away since they weren't doing vehicle searches either before they found him.
The area by the diving board was deep and there was like small little caves that went at least 3 feet beyond diving board area underground in the water.
I was amazed they opened it up the next day. It shows how much they were into making money as well.
The life guards still weren't paying attention either the next day.
But that is why everyone should watch their children closely in these types of environments. I know we were doing it before the incident and even more afterward. It is a scary thought and feeling to lose a child.

I understand that the lifeguards should have been watching more closely. And the park should be staffing a lot more than 3-4 lifeguards for the amount of traffic that was/is there.

However, why is no one wondering where the hell the parent that brought this child was? Why are parents or the responsible parties assuming they can just let their kids run around and someone else will be responsible in taking care of their kids safety?

Everyone should be pointing fingers at the parent that brought the child.

I think the point here is that the lifeguards weren't taking their jobs seriously. Many people there that day and the days following the accident say the lifeguards were not paying attention and were goofing off.

There were three lifeguards on duty in the Blue Hole swimming area alone. That's plenty for the small area this is. There were several more on duty elsewhere in the park. Would the boy be alive if they were paying closer attention? Maybe. From what I understand he was there with friends, and the adult watching him looked away for a moment.

Those lifeguards are paid to closely monitor the swimmers. That's their job. They should take it seriously or find something else to do.

i was there and the stupid freakin lifeguard wasn't watching and he should get sued it was pretty sad

i wusn't there but my cuzins were.... i hate the stupid lifeguard that wusn't doing his job why the f*** wuz he not duin his job...
f*** dat B***...

RIP Miguel Angel Sosa

i was there and was like wutthe heck there was alot of cops on four wheels and there sdlaghk rnh[dflotumoeumgeroputoperureo 0guroeujodfugjodfgdfo[gherotha drphgfhkdfghkdhgoperthgvjndv.k jgeroptugjoerjtiopertjo8723579 083463469eoyj6lkjotdjhljgodijt o8jhyeop5yjj-7u0e7u4op5uy 0896u05yj6p'0uyhy0948uy45jy9o6 u03468ue57u6pe56opfj8eyiojh[er 8ojryer6o;uyj7yjihtiop

Tyler Bending wrote:

That lifeguard needs to be fired!

i am 16 years old and i was a lifegaurd at turner falls the day this accident happened. i was not at the Blue Hole when this happened, i was working the Falls shift from 11am-6pm shirt. you people need to look at this situation through our point of view. first off, we are lifegaurds, not babysitters. it IS our job to watch the water, but when you got 300-400 people in a swimming area 50 yards by 40 yards, 15 foot water, and 3 lifegaurds on duty, its impossible to see all the 11 year old kids goofing off. we saved many lives that summer and we ARE very VERY sorry for what happened. if you had seen us lifegaurds after the accident, we were all crying and we all felt like S***. we did our best and we tryed. all we ask is that you people give us some sympathy. we do our job the best we can. you have seen us at work. i was the short, stalky guy with the tattoo on my shoulders. we all have been too therapy for this, and we all had to dive down to help find the kid. i mean, how many of you would dive down in dark, stirred up water, looking for a kid's body? We did... it was scary but we did it for someone else, not ourselves. but we all are truly sorry and wish the best for the family. we are sorry but please give us a break. sorry...

brian wrote:

i was there and the stupid freakin lifeguard wasn't watching and he should get sued it was pretty sad

you can't sue us. we were doing our job, watching the water. when we have 9 lifegaurds in the park, 3 at each hole "the falls and the Blue Hole" and 3 off that day, and you got 400 people in a little area, shit can get crazy. we are lifegaurds, not babysitters. besides, the park signs say "Swim at YOUR Own risk". if you wanna bring your kids that can't swim, watch them. don't throw this whole situation on our asses.. we felt like shit, we cried. i couldn't sleep for awhile.. we had to go to therapy. give us a break.

I am so sorry for you Lifeguards that you are carrying the weight of this on your hearts. This is not your fault.
I know there is a sign that said "No Lifeguard on Duty". Therefore, the City of Davis set parents up with a false sense of security, because we did see Lifeguards on duty. But how were we to know that they were not really going to be on duty all of the time, or that there were not enough of them to even watch the children right under the slide or diving board, the two most dangerous areas and the area where the boy drowned?
Considering it was a dad who brought the friend of his son to swim, it's easy to see that he would think the lifeguards were there to help him watch these boys.
I have worked for years with Personal Injury attorneys at a successful firm in Dallas, and I can tell you that the liability is most likely on the City of Davis.
Again lifeguards - not your fault. You are kids. The adults overseeing you are to be questioned for the training, supervision and provision of lifeguards in the park. If anyone can be sued, it's the City. The family would probably win.
Let's use the memory of the boy who drowned to help us vow to see nothing like this ever happens again. I believe his name was "Michael Angel".
I'll never forget him as I'm sure no one involved ever will.

thank you so much for some sympathy. i start lifeguarding again this saturday.. i hope to see you people back there.

there isnt a day that goes by that i still dont think of this situation..

still, sorry

yeah that has got to be traumatic for all parties involved. turner falls is a beautiful place, but there is big risk of injury or death there if you don't pay attention to your surroundings.