At about 5:40 p.m., NPS Dispatchers received a call that rangers were needed at the Boulder Beach area of Lake Mead. NPS Rangers, Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) Wardens, and Metro Search and Rescue responded and searched for a 7-year-old girl (from Southern Nevada). The girl who was on a raft and was not wearing a life jacket was carried out into the basin by strong winds. Witnesses told rangers she did not know how to swim. At about 7 p.m., visitors found the body of the 7-year-old girl in Lake Mead. At this time it is presumed that she drowned. The Clark County Coroner will determine the exact cause of death.
This is the 11th fatality at Lake Mead National Recreation Area this calendar year. This fatality is the 3rd fatality of this Memorial Day Weekend. The first and second fatalities occurred Friday, May 26; one on Lake Mohave and one on Lake Mead. Rangers believe that weather played a role in all three fatalities this weekend. This year there have been a total of 7 drownings; 4 which were the result of victims being separated from their vessels.
There were non-stop calls for help into the NPS Dispatch Center today from boaters whose vessels were swamped and/or capsized. Today, in just the Boulder Basin area of Lake Mead, 28 people were saved by NPS Rangers and NDOW Wardens. The youngest survivor was an infant. There were several toddlers, children, teenagers and adults all saved in separate incidents in the Basin. The statistics from the other areas are not yet available. Rangers, Wardens and other partners, continue to save visitors at great personal risk.
NPS Rangers want to thank all of our partners for their assistance this weekend:
Nevada Department of Wildlife
Arizona Game and Fish Department
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
Nellis Air Force Base
Mohave County Sheriff
Bullhead City Fire Department
US Coast Guard Auxiliary
Clark County Coroner
Mohave County Medical Examiner
Lake Mead National Recreation Area is a unit of the National Park Service.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
