Suspected drowning at Lake Pueblo State Park under investigation
PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- UPDATE: According to the Pueblo County Coroner the victim of the apparent drowning was 68-year old Pueblo resident Robert Taylor.
Park Rangers say Taylor was fishing on a friends boat near Pedro's Point around 8:45 a.m. when he fell into the water without a life jacket on. The conditions were windy and the water was choppy ,which could have caused Taylor to fall out.
“The water started to overtake the boat, the operator shifted his weight and turned the throttle to get out of the area, and that’s when he fell into the water," said Monique Mullis, the Lake Pueblo State Park Manager.
The 68-year old was in the water for 10 minutes before another boat was able to pull him out. Mullis says the people who took Taylor out of the water immediately began performing CPR, and took him to the south shore marina for further medical assistance.
“Within ten minutes (after Taylor was brought to shore) the ambulance arrived, and took over care," said Mullis. "They determined the man was deceased at the scene.”
Lake Pueblo has seen its fair share of drownings, 5 so far this year.
“It is a lot," said Mullis. "One is too many as far as I’m concerned but as far as there being any reason any trend or anything that is causing these drownings, no there is not. There is no rhyme or reason for when things happen.”
Neither Taylor or his fishing partner were wearing life jackets Monday morning, despite having two on the boat at the time. Park Rangers at Lake Pueblo encourage people to follow the rules when they enter the park, and to always wear a life jacket while on the lake.
Original Post:
A body was found in the water at Lake Pueblo State Park Monday morning, and Colorado Parks & Wildlife is investigating what happened to the victim.
The body was found near Pedro's Cove, and officials told KRDO that it appears to be a drowning.
CPW says the victim was a 68-year-old man who fell from a small fishing boat. Passersby in a pontoon boat helped pull the victim from the water, but the man was dead.
The victim was identified by the Pueblo County Coroner's Office as Robert Charles Taylor of Pueblo.
According to CPW, this is the fifth drowning in Lake Pueblo so far this year.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
