Military couple died trying to save their kids in Lake Pueblo boat capsize, brother says
The man who died when the boat he was on with 12 other people capsized on Lake Pueblo over the weekend was a soldier stationed at Fort Carson who had deployed twice to Afghanistan and once to Iraq, Army officials said Wednesday.
The woman who died in the same accident was his wife, they said.
The couple had been married for 10 years and had four children, according to a GoFundMe page set up by a relative. They died trying to help their children survive, the fundraiser for the family said.
More: Body of 2nd victim of Lake Pueblo boat capsize recovered, identified
The body of Jessica Prindle, 38, was pulled from the water by Colorado Parks and Wildlife rangers shortly after the boat capsized in high winds on Sunday evening.
A recovery team used sonar equipment to search for her 30-year-old husband's body after he was reported missing following the accident. The search for Joshua Prindle took nearly 36 hours, and was called off once as the wind picked up again, but he was eventually found in deep water and pulled from the reservoir on Tuesday about 5:45 a.m.
"The 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson can confirm that Staff Sgt. Joshua Prindle and his spouse passed away in the boating incident at Lake Pueblo this weekend," a spokesperson for Fort Carson said in a statement Wednesday.
"Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Staff Sgt. Prindle, as we continue to work with the Pueblo County Sheriff's Department to investigate the incident."
'Both were kind-hearted people'
Everyone on the boat that set out Sunday on Lake Pueblo was a member of Jessica Prindle's family, her brother, Jesus Ramirez, said on the GoFundMe page he set up for the family.
The boat overturned about 7:30 p.m. as strong winds battered Pueblo County, tipping its 13 passengers, including eight children, into the cold waters of the reservoir.
All the children survived, as did three of the five adults on the boat, which had the capacity to hold just six to seven passengers, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson Travis Duncan.
The Prindles' children were onboard with their parents, Ramirez indicated on the GoFundMe page.
He described his sister and brother-in-law as "kind-hearted people who would do anything to help anyone, and in their last moments that is exactly what they did by helping their children survive."
One child was badly injured in the accident and had to be airlifted to a hospital. The other survivors were treated for hypothermia. None of the injured passengers have been identified.
More: Here's what to know about water safety after Sunday's boating accident at Lake Pueblo
Jessica Prindle "loved working with children and was starting her own party planning company," her brother wrote on GoFundMe.
Joshua Prindle joined the Army in October 2010.
A year later, he deployed to Afghanistan for an eight-month tour of duty. He deployed there again in 2013, and did a six-month tour in Iraq in 2018, according to information provided by Fort Carson, where he had been stationed since June 2020.
“This tragedy hits the Mountain Warrior Brigade hard," said Col. Andy Kiser, commander of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
"Staff Sgt. Prindle was a valued member of our team, and his loss is felt across the formation. Our focus now is to assist the family in their time of need."
Karin Zeitvogel can be contacted by email at kzeitvogel@chieftain.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Lake Pueblo boat capsize victims were Army sergeant and his wife
