Utah Man Drowns Trying to Rescue Girl in Reservoir

New York Times

2 days ago

A 31-year-old man drowned over the weekend after jumping into a reservoir in Utah to save a 12-year-old girl who was drifting on an inflatable tube, the Utah County Sheriff's Office said on Monday.
The man, Daniel Braga Figueiredo, 31, borrowed a paddle board and went out to help the girl, a relative, before 7 p.m. Saturday. They were at the Silver Lake Flat Reservoir, just over an hour drive southeast of Salt Lake City.
'The two were seen struggling to consolidate themselves, and both ended up in the water,' the Utah County Sheriff's Office said. Bystanders saw Mr. Figueiredo lifting the girl onto an inflatable device, before disappearing in the water. His body was recovered from the reservoir at 9:30 p.m. The girl survived.
Austin Isbell, a spokesman for the Utah Department of Natural Resources Division of Outdoor Recreation, said in an email on Wednesday that Mr. Figueiredo helped the young woman onto the stand-up paddle board 'but could not board or hold onto it himself and drowned.'
The girl and Mr. Figueiredo were not wearing life jackets, according to Mr. Isbell. It is unclear how they were related.
He said that life jacket use is critically important, especially during the busy summer season.
'The incident at Silver Lake Flat Reservoir was preventable,' Mr. Isbell said. He said that the girl on the inflatable tube 'was struggling to paddle back to shore but was not in danger.'
Mr. Isbell said that all vessels, including boats, kayaks, stand-up paddle boards and canoes, must have a U.S. Coast Guard-approved wearable personal flotation device or life jacket for each passenger.
The water temperature was around 71 degrees Fahrenheit, which is just above the level at which water should be treated with caution, according to the National Center for Cold Water Safety.
About 4,000 people die from unintentional drowning each year in the United States, according to the American Red Cross. Many are children.
The Red Cross advises people not to put themselves in danger when trying to make a rescue. Instead, they should call for help, since aiding someone who is at risk of drowning requires more than just basic swimming skills.
There are significant gaps in access to swimming lessons. More than 60 percent of Black children, 45 percent of Hispanic children and 40 percent of white children have little or no swimming ability, according to a 2017 study by the University of Memphis and University of Nevada. The study also found that 79 percent of children from households with incomes of less than $50,000 have little or no swimming ability.
The Silver Lake Flat Reservoir lies in the mountains of American Fork Canyon, near the Lone Peak Wilderness.