Update: One Killed, One Injured In Teller County Canoe Accident
Teller County authorities continue investigating the death of a teen in a Wednesday morning boating accident. A friend said the victim, 17, was from Colorado Springs.
The names of the victim and a 20-year-old companion had not been released as of late Wednesday night. Authorities said the passengers were in a canoe that capsized at about 11 a.m. at Skaguay Reservoir, five miles east of the town of Victor.
Two campers rescued the survivor and tried to resuscitate the victim. A deputy said the survivor was listed in stable condition at a local hospital.
The campers spoke exclusively with KRDO Newschannel 13 at the scene. Mike Barry and Mike Mieli said they live in Albuquerque and had visited the reservoir before, eight months ago. On Wednesday, they said they heard a cry for help from the water.
“I jumped in and swam out to (the older passenger),” said Barry. “He had made it halfway from the boat to the shore. I told him to be calm and relax.”
“They were horseplaying,” said Mieli. “(They were) fooling around, tipping the boat. They were taking oars and splashing each other.”
Barry said after helping the survivor to shore, he began looking for the victim.
“He (victim) was already floating,” said Barry. “His face was down. The other kid said that his friend was out there. I told him it was too late, that he was gone.”
Barry said he, and later, emergency crews, tried for more than an hour to resuscitate the victim. Mieli said he saw a life jacket floating near the canoe but didn’t know if either passenger was wearing one.
“If you come out here, you’ve got to wear life vests,” Barry said. “This water is so cold, by the time I got to this guy, I was frozen. I could barely bring him in myself.”
Barry said on his last visit to the reservoir, a child fell from a kayak and had to be rescued. On that same day, he said his son was murdered in Colorado Springs. Barry said he was at Skaguay on Wednesday to remember his son.
