By Mary-Justine Lanyon
Editor
An incident that could have turned the Fourth of July weekend tragic turned out to be a false alarm.
According to Mike Pate, general manager of the Arrowhead Lake Association, a beach goer at Tavern Bay Beach Club ran up to a lifeguard to report they had seen a teenage girl – possibly wearing a white bathing suit – hit her head on the multiple dock, grab her head and go under the water.
“They didn’t see her come back up,” Pate said, who happened to be at Tavern Bay Beach Club while on his rounds of the ALA properties on Saturday, July 5.
“The water was extremely rough – like the ocean,” Pate said, noting that the lake’s water heads to the Tavern Bay area when it is windy, which it was that day.
The lifeguard grabbed his rescue float, Pate said, and ran toward the dock; Pate followed him.
By chance – or a blessing, Pate said – diver Charles DeBruyn was about to start a job across from Tavern Bay. Someone called him and he was in the water, diving, in six or seven minutes.
“I was very impressed with how everyone responded,” Pate added. The sheriff’s boat was on scene in minutes. The fire boat arrived as did a sheriff’s helicopter, bringing additional divers.
“There were three or more divers under the docks within a few minutes,” Pate said. “The clarity was good – they felt confident no one was there but they couldn’t assume that.”
The helicopter hovered above the beach club, checking to see if they could see anyone in the water. Out of an abundance of caution, Pate said, the ALA staff had asked everyone to leave the water so they could see more clearly. They took a couple of hours to search.
Lake Safety had also arrived in a couple of minutes, securing the area and keeping boats at a distance.
“We made announcements over our loudspeakers, asking if anyone was missing. No one responded,” Pate noted.
He went to his office to review footage from the cameras ALA installed at Tavern Bay after putting in the inflatables. “I had glimpses of the water but didn’t see anyone swim by or get out of the water,” he said.
Sheriff’s deputies went up and down the beach, inquiring if anyone had come out of the water. They also interviewed folks on boats in the area, asking if they had seen something.
At the end of the search, it was determined that the incident was a false alarm. The question remains of what the witness saw.
“I’m chalking this up as a good test for our entire team and the rescue services,” Pate said. “I am super pleased everyone was able to get there and respond so quickly.
He will be debriefing the ALA staff but said he doesn’t know of anything they should have done differently.
“I am super proud of our staff – our team – and the rescue services,” Pate said. “In my heart, I was thinking that, if this were my child, the team did everything they could do.”
On Monday afternoon, Pate received this message from Battalion Chief Jerren Grundy:
“I was the battalion chief on the reported drowning at Tavern Bay Beach Club on July 5th. I just wanted to express how impressed I was with the response from ALA.
“At the time of our dispatch there was already a diver entering the water, the lifeguards were performing searches and the staff was engaged to find the possible victim.
“All this was going on while staff on the beach was engaging the public on the beach to ensure everyone was accounted for and no one was missing any members of their party.
“Your personnel were incredibly helpful and very competent. It is absolutely refreshing knowing that, had it been a victim in the water, the competency of your personnel would have aided in the best possible outcome for the residents and visitors to the lake.
“As a first responder it makes our job 100 percent easier with the great job your staff is doing.”
His words, Pate said, “made me very proud of our team.”
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