At about 3 p.m. this afternoon (Saturday, July 7), an emergency call came into the National Park Service (NPS) Dispatch Center on Marine Band Emergency Channel 16.A woman reported that her husband had been swimming in Lake Mohave when she lost sight of him. Park Rangers were on scene in about six minutes. The area the man was last seen is almost directly across from Cottonwood Cove on the Arizona side of Lake Mohave.
At least four private vessels who heard the emergency call over the radio also responded to the area to help locate the man. About an hour after the initial call for help came in the victim’s body was located by one of the private citizens assisting with the search. Park Rangers on the NPS Dive Team and a diver from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department recovered his body at about 8 p.m.
The victim’s wife reported that a group of family members and their pet dog had been boating and were swimming in the water. The couple had brought along four nieces and nephews from Los Angeles on their trip. It was reported to Park Rangers that the group decided to head back to shore when the wind caused some wave action (about 2-3 foot waves). The victim’s wife reported arriving at the shore and she could no longer see her husband swimming behind her. The children who were all wearing life jackets made it safely back to shore. The victim did not have on a life jacket.
At this time he is presumed drowned but the Mohave County Medical Examiner will determine the exact cause of death. National Park Service Rangers and Special Agents are investigating the incident.
The victim’s identity will be released after the Mohave County Medical Examiner makes a positive identification of the victim. This is all we know at this time. Updates will be sent via email when new information becomes available.
If the cause of death is confirmed to be a drowning, it will be the fourth drowning and 15th fatality of the year at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Both Lakes Mead and Mohave are part of the approximate 1.5-million-acre Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
Park Rangers want to remind all visitors to always wear a life jacket when swimming in Lake Mead and/or Lake Mohave.About 99 percent of the drownings that have occurred in the recreation area could have been prevented if the victims had been wearing life jackets.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
