6-year-old drowns in Spanish Fork during family reunion

Stock image, child's shoe | Placebo 365, Getty Images, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A family reunion ended tragically when a 6-year-old boy drowned in a Spanish Fork reservoir Saturday evening.

Shortly before 4:30 p.m. officers responded to the Spanish Oaks Reservoir located at 2931 S. Spanish Oaks Drive in Spanish Fork on a report of a 6-year-old child reported missing by family members, Spanish Fork Police Detective Sgt. Phil Nielsen said in a statement released Saturday night.

The child and his mother were visiting from North Dakota for a family reunion with relatives in the Spanish Fork area.

The child was last seen playing with several other children in the beach area of the reservoir, and after looking for the child for approximately 15 minutes, the family called police, Nielsen said in the statement.

Officers, firefighters, EMS personnel and Utah County Search and Rescue teams responded to the reservoir and began looking for the child. Several bystanders also joined in the search.

A citizen found the child in the reservoir shortly after 5 p.m. under approximately 5 feet of water in the same area where the child was last seen playing, Nielsen said.

The child was transported to Mountain View Hospital in Payson by ambulance and despite attempts to revive the boy, he succumbed to the drowning and was pronounced dead, police said.

Officials did not immediately release the boy’s name pending notification of family, asking that “there be no contact from media to the family as they deal with this tragic situation.”

This report is based on statements from police or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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