Two Hidden Valley Brothers Drown in Canal

[Desert Dweller]

We had a tragic New Years Day drowning in Hidden Valley.  Here's the story from Channel 5:
 
 
PHOENIX (KPHO) - Officials in Pinal County say they recovered the bodies of the two missing children who fell into a canal.

Pinal County Sheriff's spokesman Elias Johnson said the two children, ages 6 and 10,  fell into the canal located west of Stanfield near the intersection of Century Road and Armarillo Valley Road. We're told the older brother was going to turn 11 in just two days.

The brothers were walking along the canal with a third brother, also 10 years old, when the youngest, a 6-year-old boy with autism, fell in. His brothers went in after him, but unfortunately the oldest and youngest did not make it out. The 10-year-old child managed to claw his way out and get help.

"We're already starting the new year off with a canal drowning story, and these things are dangerous out in rural Arizona," said Johnson.

"I just talked to these kids and now I don't see them, I feel bad," said Al Mataalii, who lives in the area. He said he saw the boys walking this morning. Then, a few hours later, he says he saw the 10-year-old running for help.

"When I see the little boy crying I said, 'Hey, what's the matter with you?' And he said, 'Oh, they fell in the canal there,'" Mataalii said. He went to the canal while another neighbor called 911.

"When we got here, we found some shoes floating in the water that looked like juvenile, young boy shoes," Johnson said. The canal is lined with concrete, and the area where the boys fell in is about 11 feet deep.

"You don't have those emergency escape steps like you do in the towns," said Johnson.

Maricopa County Sheriff's Office dive teams went in Sunday evening, and within minutes their worst fears were realized when they found the two boys's bodies. Needless to say, this community is devastated.

The Pinal County Sheriff's Office tells us the boys did not know how to swim, but that wasn't their only obstacle; they also said those waters were murky and ice cold. We're told the boys' mother is with friends and family.

http://www.kpho.com/story/16426554/pinal-officials-search-canal-for-two-missing-kids

[Tangled]

This is terribly sad.. two of these boys attend school with Reiley at Rise & Shine.. one of the two did not survive this tragic event...

I don't understand why there are not ladders in canals.. 

[Blue Tick]

"I don't understand why there are not ladders in canals..


No ladders, but there are rungs molded into the concrete sides at repeatable distances in canals.

This is such a tragedy, my prayers for the family.

[Tempting Fait]

The Pinal County Sheriff's Office tells us the boys did not know how to swim

Teach your kids to swim, float, tread water, anything to keep their heads above water!!
Teach your kids to respect the water--no rough houseing in or near the water!!
Babies can be taught to swim before they crawl, get them into a "mommy and me" class or something like that. Even if all they learn is how to roll over and float it can go a long way in saving lives.

[Desert Dweller]

I am a firm believer in teaching kids to swim - or at least have someone do it.  Two-thirds of the world is water.  Chances are, they're going to encounter it at some point in their lives in some form other than a bottle or glass.  Plus, a kid who can't swim is missing out on a lot of fun growing up.

I believe that putting ladders in canals would encourage kids to get into the water because it makes it so easy for them to get in and out.  It's almost an invitation.  Plus, you would need them every 25 feet on both sides for them to act as a life saving device.  One of the reasons Maricopa has the Rotary Pool is that the members wanted to give kids a place to swim other than the canals.

[Desert Dweller]

Names of victims released.
 
MARICOPA, AZ (AP) - Pinal County authorities have released the names of two brothers who drowned in an irrigation canal 30 miles south of Phoenix.

They are identified as 6-year-old Calib Ontario Love and 10-year-old Anthony Michael Love. A third brother, 10-year-old Emmanuel Stower, survived.

Authorities say 6-year-old Calib apparently fell into the canal in Maricopa Sunday afternoon and his two brothers slid down the steep embankment to save him.

The boys didn't know how to swim, but Emmanuel was able to make it out of the canal and run home to get help.

Divers found the boys' bodies Sunday evening near where they had slipped into the water. Police had originally thought they had washed several hundred yards downstream to a grate.

http://www.kpho.com/story/16430490/bodies-of-2-brothers-recovered-from-arizona-canal

[mallardisme]

I saw this as well.
 
Very sad. I saw video of SW571 with the faces I hate seeing. They are ones of rescue workers on the scene with nobody to help.

It was an incident like this many years ago that brought about the Rotary pool as a plece for kids to learn to swim.

Parents, please teach them early. They will want to play around water. That is just a fact of life.

I feel so very sorry for the family. I can't imagine what they must be going through.

[Fritzydoodle]

Canals are different than open water swimming. The current is incredibly strong and swift. A Phx PD rescue diver drowned several years ago in a canal when he got stuck against a grate.

The only prevention is to keep people and animals unable to get near the canal by way of fencing, a very costly security.  This cap canal has been around a long time. Long before many people lived in Hidden Valley. Then again SRP has the same issue with a canal that crosses Phoenix.  No real solution. Just tragedy.

[mallardisme]

Canals are different than open water swimming. The current is incredibly strong and swift. A Phx PD rescue diver drowned several years ago in a canal when he got stuck against a grate.

The only prevention is to keep people and animals unable to get near the canal by way of fencing, a very costly security.  This cap canal has been around a long time. Long before many people lived in Hidden Valley. Then again SRP has the same issue with a canal that crosses Phoenix.  No real solution. Just tragedy.

Very much agreed, but, if you can't swim at all, you don't have any chance of survival.