EDMONTON – A three-year-old boy has passed away one day after being found floating in a lake west of Stony Plain.
The young boy was found floating just off the shore of Mink Lake Sunday evening by an eleven-year-old boy, who yelled for help.
“They found him floating near a dock, unresponsive,” says Cpl. Colette Zazulak. “The 11-yr-old boy screamed for help and several adults came.”
The mother of the older boy, along with two men, did CPR for about eight minutes until emergency crews arrived.
“Everybody got on board with helping, clearing the path, making sure the gates were open, leading the officers and EMS all down,” recalls Delila Whitby. It’s believed a group of children were playing with a dinghy before the incident happened.
“They all want to be part of getting on a dinghy, right? The older children had mentioned that there was a splash, but they just thought, maybe it was a paddle, you know? Maybe it was somebody kicking their feet,” says Whitby. “When it had been pulled on, I believe that’s when it was discovered – when more people had gotten out of the water and there was still one left.”
The boy was rushed to the Stollery Hospital, where he died on Monday.
The three-year-old was an Edmonton resident. His name is not being released.
His family is well-known around Mink Lake campground, where on Tuesday, flags at Mink Lake were at half-mast.
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“It’s just so sad,” says Betty Peters. “It’s really impacted everybody around here. A lot of people just went home and cried after that, because you just didn’t know what else to do.”
Victim Services support is being provided to the victim’s family, as well as those who witnessed and took part in the rescue attempt.
Police continue to investigate the incident and want to get the following message out:
“With people being in the lakes and the warm weather now,” says Zakulak, “with toddlers, preschoolers, any little ones in the water, they should always be within arms reach to prevent these types of tragedies.”
RCMP would like to speak with anyone who was camping at Mink Lake over the long weekend and may have information about the incident.
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