Cable Cove – A Swain County family experienced an unimaginable loss Saturday, as a day of fun turned into tragedy.
Around 5 p.m., the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission was notified of a distressed vessel near the Cable Cove section of Fontana Lake in Graham County. The report indicated that an infant was missing.
Preliminary reports from the wildlife commission indicate that eight people were aboard a “tritoon” – which differs from a pontoon, in that the tritoon has three aluminum tubes to evenly distribute weight, as opposed to just two on a pontoon – while three more trailed the boat on what was described as a “high back tube,” attached by a rope.
For reasons unknown at press time, the boat capsized – sending everyone onboard into the water. All of the individuals were wearing life jackets.
When those involved gathered their bearings, the infant was unable to be located. Other boats on the lake immediately began assisting the family in the search for the 1-year-old, with the child later discovered and pulled from the water by the boater.
Personnel from both the Graham County, Stecoah and Swain County Rescue squads – as well as Graham County Emergency Medical Services, the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service – responded to the scene and, once the infant was at the shoreline, began working feverishly to save the child. An automated external defibrillator and CPR was administered, but the infant could not be revived.
All others aboard the vessel and tube were taken to Swain Community Hospital for evaluation. The accident remains under investigation.
Due to the sensitive nature of the incident, counselors were called in to assist those who responded to the scene.
At press time, officials had not released the identity of the infant, nor the others involved.
The drowning was the second one in Graham County in as many weeks. Chester Coleman, 63 of Alberta, Ala., became visibly distressed while swimming in Lake Santeetlah on July 13 and went underwater before swimmers nearby could rescue him.
His body was recovered around 15 minutes after the initial 911 call was placed about a potential drowning. Coleman was a worker on the Corridor K improvement project.