14-year-old boy dies after drowning in Salt River during class trip
Aug 16, 2018, 4:22 PM
(Twitter/@SgtJEnriquez)
(Twitter/@SgtJEnriquez)
PHOENIX — A 14-year-old student was pronounced dead on Wednesday after he drowned during a school trip to the Salt River.
Sgt. Bryant Vanegas with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said in an email that the teen was at the river around 11:30 a.m. for a class trip with the director of the Arizona International Academy and 10 other classmates.
The boy, who was not identified, was floating down the river with the group at Blue Point Bridge when he had difficulty staying on his tube. He was the last one in the group, due to the river’s current.
He lost his tube in waist-deep water and was being helped by a 15-year-old friend when he went below the surface.
The friend then entered the water in an attempt to push him toward the shore, but was unsuccessful.
The MCSO Search and Recovery Dive Team recovered the student’s body in 10 feet of water, approximately 25 yards from where he was last seen. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
The medical examiner concluded that there were no obvious signs of trauma.
Vanegas said the death was being classified as a drowning and there have been no indicators to suspect foul play.
The case will remain open pending autopsy results.
KTAR News 92.3 FM has reached out to the school for comment, but has not received a response as of this publication.
