Our Entire Village Feels This Loss

Update: The teen’s body was recovered on Tuesday. The post has been updated to show that the family comes from Turkey, not Syria, as previously reported.

This week started on a tragic note. Our collective hearts ache for a visiting family’s unimaginable loss.

On Sunday afternoon, a mainly sunny day when our village of Port Stanley was packed with visitors, two teens struggled in the water off Main Beach. Their Dad, who can’t swim, went into the rough surf to help them. Lifeguards saved him and his 17-year old son. The other, a 14-year-old boy, was not. He had gone under and didn’t resurface.

Rescuers and volunteers formed a human chain and went out into the choppy water for hours trying to find the boy. An OPP helicopter and the Marine Unit joined the search. Divers and searchers were back out first thing Monday morning through thunderstorms and heavy rain. As I write, his body has not been recovered. Police say the search will continue until he his found.

It’s just devastating to think of a family losing a child. I know several bereaved parents and it’s not something you ever get over. The boy’s mother was in such distress that she was taken to St. Thomas hospital. His father stayed and tried to help find his missing son.

At the time the boy went into the lake, the water was yellow-flagged. That’s a warning to weak swimmers to stay out because of moderate waves or currents. But I don’t think many people pay attention to those flags and/or know what they mean. (And I don’t know for a fact that the boy was a weak swimmer.)

Warnings, Signs and Flags

We see it every summer. One of Port Stanley’s beaches is temporarily declared unsafe – due to the presence of E Coli or another reason – and yet swimmers and families continue to play in the water. It’s not their fault.

Not everyone reads the news. They certainly don’t go to the local public health website and check for beach water testing results before heading to the lake. Even though it’s also posted on a beach sign, when you’re juggling kids and all the stuff you need (towels, sunscreen, snacks, etc.) who has time to stop and read a sign?

Derek and I have read them while we’re on our walks and learned about how to get out of a riptide. Useless information for us, really, because we don’t swim at our own beaches. It’s just not what we do. We are here for the walkability, the community, the small town vibe. Also, I hide from the sun like a vampire.

In the case of this teen, language is another possible issue. The family emigrated from Turkey last year and although I don’t know their level of English literacy, it’s possible that was part of the situation.

Swimming Memories

We had a pool for many years when I was growing up. It was a huge above-ground pool (our parents were renting the house) and a magnet for every kid, every family, every relative, and we loved it. We practically lived in it all summer. Our parents watched us like hawks and we had strict rules to follow. We grew up knowing the potential dangers of water. Not every family has that luxury or that education.

There are lifeguards at Main Beach and signs warning that you’re on your own at the other village beaches. There is a certain level of personal responsibility of course but drownings are preventable. And when it’s a child – it’s just heartbreaking. We, collectively, are responsible for the safety of children. It feels like we failed.

I don’t have the answers. But we have to do better than posting signs. I also know that swimming lessons are vital and so is learning about how to get out of undertows and riptides. Organizations like the Lifesaving Society do what they can to help educate and inform. Next week is Drowning Prevention Week in Canada. Drowning takes hundreds of thousands of lives around the world every year. Let’s not take the danger of water for granted.