It's sad beyond words, and the poor kid and family paid the ultimate price.
I can't speak to this particular family however in far too many instances, no on in the family can swim, they either go out on an inflatable or wade out and get in trouble. With no appreciation for the danger No matter how much warning, people continue to do it. If you can't swim you have no business being near the water without a PFD.
Growing up in the falls, there was one beach on the Welland River (Chippewa Creek) Kingsbridge Beach that always had tourists there, they had lifeguards plus a boat patrol that constantly floated from the beach down to the bridge, tourists would wade out past the roped off section despite having a lifeguard yelling at them, step over the drop off then either drowned, or had to be rescued. They finally closed the beach, and backfilled the whole area with rock. It only takes a second for someone to slip beneath surface, no spash, you yells, just gone. I've had it happen 20 feet from me in our own pool with a friends kid, one second wading in the shallow end, seconds later completely under water without a sound, after that any kid that couldn't swim had to have a PFD period.
I can't speak to this particular family however in far too many instances, no on in the family can swim, they either go out on an inflatable or wade out and get in trouble. With no appreciation for the danger No matter how much warning, people continue to do it. If you can't swim you have no business being near the water without a PFD.
Growing up in the falls, there was one beach on the Welland River (Chippewa Creek) Kingsbridge Beach that always had tourists there, they had lifeguards plus a boat patrol that constantly floated from the beach down to the bridge, tourists would wade out past the roped off section despite having a lifeguard yelling at them, step over the drop off then either drowned, or had to be rescued. They finally closed the beach, and backfilled the whole area with rock. It only takes a second for someone to slip beneath surface, no spash, you yells, just gone. I've had it happen 20 feet from me in our own pool with a friends kid, one second wading in the shallow end, seconds later completely under water without a sound, after that any kid that couldn't swim had to have a PFD period.