3 siblings drown in ‘choppy waters’
Powerful wave swept kids away at beach in La Porte, witness says
LA PORTE — Patrick January was enjoying a hot summer day at Sylvan Beach Park with his girlfriend on Thursday when he witnessed an unspeakable tragedy: Four siblings playing on rocks near waves “big enough to surf ” were suddenly swept away when a wave crashed over them.
Then he heard the screams from the children’s parents. The father dove in the water in an attempt to save them. Another woman jumped in and managed to pull a 10-year old boy to the surface. It took several hours before first responders recovered the bodies of three other children, ages 7, 11 and 13.
January and his girlfriend, Tasha Price, stayed on the beach, consoling the family after an unimaginable loss.
“All (the father) told me was, ‘I tried to get ’em, I tried to save ’em,’ ” January said. “The current was so strong that it kept them under for hours before the first body came up.”
A GoFundMe page established Friday by a relative identified two of the children as Zania and Zakai Hunter, ages 13 and 11, respectively. An ABC news report identified the third child as Zion “Ziggy” Harris, 7.
As investigators try to piece together how the drownings occurred, at least one Harris County leader has already called for expanded life guard hours at the popular beach.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said “choppy waters and undercurrents” may have contributed to the children’s deaths.
He also said there is speculation that a large boat may have passed, causing a wave to overcome the children.
“Obviously, our condolences go out to the family,” Gonzalez said. “They are completely devastated at this. We can only imagine that they lost three children in the matter of moments. There are no words to explain that.”
A park patron flagged a Harris County deputy at 7:15 p.m., minutes after the children disappeared, Gonzalez said. Roughly four hours later, Harris County Deputy Fabian Viruette, the first responder on the scene, was the first to pull one of the children’s bodies from the water. He described the scene as “chaotic.”
“Everybody was screaming and yelling,” Viruette said.
The U.S. Coast Guard, Chambers County Sheriff’s Office and the Port Authority of Houston also responded and helped in the search effort by using sonar to locate the bodies underwater.
Chambers County Justice of the Peace Larry Cryer pronounced all three children dead at the scene. The 10-year old boy, who has not yet been identified, was treated by EMS.
No lifeguards were present at Sylvan Beach Park on Thursday. The lifeguard program, which is operated by Harris County, is seasonal, and guards are present at Sylvan Beach only on Friday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Sylvan Beach Park, managed by Harris County, is within the city of LaPorte, but the bay waters that border the park are wholly within Chambers County.
The Chambers County Sheriff ’s Office is taking lead in the investigation.
Thursday’s drowning was the second at Sylvan Beach Park in the last three months. A 3-year old girl died there in May.
Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia, whose precinct includes Sylvan Beach Park, said his office is looking into expanding the seasonal lifeguard program so that an open water-certified lifeguard would be at Sylvan Beach everyday, consistent with similar programs at beaches in Galveston.
“Last night when I got the news of what was transpiring, I directed my staff to start working to figure out how we can expand the program and make sure that it is consistent with other seasonal programs,” Garcia said.
January, who witnessed the three children drowning, said the frequent absence of a lifeguard and unseen riptides prevent him from letting his daughter swim at Sylvan Beach.
“It’s not a man-made beach; you’re in the ocean,” he said. “You would think the water’s calm, but they got an undercurrent that will push this stuff to shore that we really don’t realize.”