Drowning at Spanaway Lake: Pierce County recovers body of man who tried to fix boat
The Pierce County Metro Dive Team recovered the body of a 69-year-old man from Spanaway Lake Park Saturday morning.
Dispatchers received a call at 5:03 p.m. Friday regarding a possible drowning at the lake. Witnesses said the man, who was on a boat, went into the water to fix the propeller. He did not come back up after a few minutes, and witnesses called 911.
The dive team arrived that afternoon. Two divers attempted to locate the man but failed initially because of “a difficult last seen point and minimal visibility,” according to a statement from the department.
The department decided to hold off and resume recovery efforts until 7 a.m. the next morning, according to the statement. Around 9:45 a.m. Saturday morning, divers located the man by using sonar equipment.
Drowning incidents in Spanaway Lake, which draws over 400,000 people per year, are not uncommon. In September 2020, two teenage brothers drowned off toy floats. In July 2019, a paddle boarder fell off his board.
The mother of the two teenage brothers pleaded to get lifeguards in 2020. Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesperson Darren Moss said no lifeguards are patrolling the lake to date.
Pierce County’s website offers tips to prevent drowning, which can be found at piercecountywa.gov/2420/Swimming-Safety-Tips. One of the tips includes checking the temperature because any body of water below 70 degrees can kill people within a few minutes.
This story was originally published July 30, 2022 at 1:13 PM.
