Man drowns while swimming on Lake Tapps

A 22-year-old man drowned on Lake Tapps on Sunday, despite rescuers’ attempts to save him.

Police received a call about a possible drowning at Allan Yorke Park in Bonney Lake just before 7 p.m. Sunday, said Russ McCallion, an assistant chief with East Pierce Fire and Rescue.

The man was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup and later died there, the Bonney Lake Police Department reported on Twitter.

“Our thoughts are with the victim’s family and friends,” the police department tweeted.

McCallion gave this account:

The man was with friends at the lakeside park when he swam outside of the designated swimming area. The swimming area is separated from the rest of Lake Tapps by buoys and ropes.

The man swam maybe 100 yards off shore when his friends realized they could no longer see him. The man’s friends then contacted officers with the Bonney Lake Police Department, who began searching the surface of the water by boat.

Shortly afterward, two divers with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department arrived and began searching for the victim. The Pierce County divers found the man and brought him to the surface. Emergency personnel immediately began administering CPR.

A crew with East Pierce Fire and Rescue transported the man to the hospital in critical condition. Responders estimated the man was under the water for 20 to 30 minutes.

McCallion said the man’s death is the first drowning on Lake Tapps in three summers. A few drownings have already occurred this year elsewhere in Pierce County, he said.

McCallion said it is important for people to know that when someone is drowning, he or she might not scream for help or be visibly in distress.

“It just reminds people that the waters in Pierce County — whether it’s Lake Tapps or anywhere else — can still be very cold water and that can very quickly sap your strength,” McCallion said. “People can overestimate their own abilities.”

Outside of the past few years, there are usually one or two drownings per summer on Lake Tapps, McCallion said.

This story was originally published July 30, 2017 at 9:04 PM with the headline "Man drowns while swimming on Lake Tapps."