2 at gathering for relative's water death drown

Published November 17, 2014

Authorities say two family members commemorating a relative who was killed when he was trapped underwater in a mining accident drowned while swimming in a north Florida lake.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office says a woman and a child were swimming off a boat in Lake Weir Monday. The woman began having trouble. Her brother-in-law jumped in to help and got the child back to the boat.

He went back to help the woman but her thrashing caused them both to go under.

Divers searched for the pair most of the afternoon but had to stop because of weather and water conditions.

Family members were commemorating the life of 35-year-old Kenneth James Stephens Jr. He died in a Sumter County lime-rock mine accident last year.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/us/2-at-gathering-for-relatives-water-death-drown