Drownings reported at Grand Lake, Keystone Lake during Fourth of July holiday weekend
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GROVE — Authorities have recovered the bodies of multiple drowning victims in northeast Oklahoma over the Fourth of July weekend, including at least two at Grand Lake.
According to multiple news reports, officers with the Grand River Dam Authority Police Department recovered the body of Levi Gibson, 39, of Afton, around 5 p.m. Friday.
Witnesses told police Gibson jumped off of a boat into the lake to help a child who'd fallen off a device being towed behind the boat. Gibson did not resurface.
Officers also responded to a drowning at Flint Creek Waterpark in Colcord. Citizens pulled a 26-year-old man from the water and attempted CPR, but he was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical services. Police have not released his name.
Investigators also have not released the name of another victim, an 18-year-old male from Oklahoma City, as reported by Fox 23 News in Tulsa. The news station reported that the victim was swimming with friends in the Locust Grove area Friday when he jumped from the roof of a dock into Grand Lake.
Several other drownings were reported elsewhere throughout Oklahoma over the Fourth of July weekend, including a double drowning at Keystone Lake on Thursday, the afternoon of the holiday.
The victims were Nathaniel A. Richardson, 39, and a 14-year-old boy, according to the Pawnee County Sheriff's Office. Troopers with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, whose dive team recovered the victims' bodies, said the 14-year-old boy fell into the Appalachia Bay waters and began to struggle. Richardson, believed to be the boy's father, jumped into the water in an attempt to rescue him, but neither came back up.
And in Norman, the body of 53-year-old Sean Mooney, of Harrah, was recovered Thursday at Lake Thunderbird. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Mooney was making repairs to his disabled boat Wednesday when he fell overboard and did not resurface. According to a report from an investigating trooper, Mooney was not wearing a lifejacket.
Authorities stressed various safety tips while swimming at lakes during the holiday, including wearing personal flotation devices, staying sober and hydrated and remaining aware of the depths of the water.
"We have worked three drownings today — two at Lake Keystone and one at Lake Thunderbird," the Oklahoma Highway Patrol posted on social media late Thursday afternoon. "We’re urging everyone to be careful out on the lakes this holiday weekend."
The agency also said it would be participating in #OperationDryWater, a nationwide effort "focused on reducing the number of alcohol and drug related incidents and fatalities on the water. This is a very busy weekend on Oklahoma lakes and we will be out enforcing the laws to keep you safe."
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Drowning victims recovered at Oklahoma lakes over July 4th weekend
