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CACHE COUNTY, Utah, May 26, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — A gathering of approximately 40 young people at a popular Cache County swimming hole took a tragic turn Friday when a young man drowned after jumping off a cliff into Hyrum Reservoir.
The victim, whose name has yet to be released, was with a group of teens who were cooling off in an area called “Big Toe,” just east of the Hyrum Dam.
Witnesses told Cache County rescuers the victim tried to perform a flip as he jumped into the water and ended up landing on his stomach.
After rising to the surface for a brief moment he slipped back below the water.
When he failed to resurface, diver after diver entered the water in a series of frenzied but futile rescue attempts.
Emergency responders from the Cache County Sheriff’s Office responded to 911 calls within four minutes and began searching for the missing swimmer.
The body was found about 8:15 p.m.
As the grim reality of the drowning hit home a number of teens were overcome with emotion. They were offered counseling by on-call members of Bear River Mental Health and the Cache County Victim Advocates.
It sounds to me like the young man had some very caring friends. I can only hope with time their memories of him will overshadow this very sad day and they can focus on the good and not his tragic passing.