The second day of Maple Valley Days came to a grim ending when a Valley Regional Fire and Authority diver pulled the body of an 18-year-old male from Lake Wilderness at about 10 p.m. Saturday.
The incident began about 9 p.m. when the man and his two male friends attempted to swim across the lake from the dock according to King County Sheriff’s Officer spokesman Capt. Brad Thompson.
“An 18-year-old black male was attempting to swim across the lake,” Thompson said. “The other two got ahead and didn’t know he was in trouble.”
The man’s two friends made the swim, but the 18-year-old apparently began having trouble about 30 yards from the dock.
Thompson said a female friend was video taping the incident with her cell phone and realized the man went under the surface of the water.
Maple Valley police officers and a King County Sheriff’s deputy, who were on the scene while the second day of Maple Valley Days was coming to a close, responded to the incident at 9:15 p.m.
Soon after Maple Valley Fire and Life Safety, Valley Regional Fire and Authority, the Renton Fire Department and Guardian One, the sheriff’s department rescue helicopter, were called to the lake.
Search crafts were on the water by about 9:30 and divers entered the water at about 9:45 p.m.
As people gathered along the shore, an eerie scene played out on the lake with the sun setting and bats flying above.
Guardian One circled overhead shinning searchlights onto the surface of the water. The search boats circled a short distance from the dock, while the man’s two friends stood at the end of the dock with officers.
Thompson said the helicopter used an infrared system to try to find the man. The system measures body heat, but the attempt was not successful.
The diver found the man and he was brought to the surface and onto the dock at about 10:10 p.m. Emergency personnel performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation in an attempt to revive the man.
He was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:23 p.m.
Thompson said there was no evidence drugs or alcohol were involved.
“This was just a tragic event,” Thompson said.
