2 drown in Lake Erie

Lakeview Beach in Lorain reopened the morning of June 1 after the second of two drowning victims was recovered in Lake Erie.

Authorities had closed the beach around 6:15 p.m., May 31, while emergency services searched for 14-year-old Isaiah Barnes and 20-year-old Jesus Del Valle-Rodriguez who went under the water and never resurfaced, according to the Lorain County Metro Parks and Coroner’s Office.

Del Valle-Rodriguez was a Lorain resident, according to Lorain County Coroner Frank Miller.

Miller had no information on the younger victim’s city of residency, he said.

Miller ruled both deaths as drowning, he also said.

Emergency calls began coming in around 6 p.m. reporting the boy entered the water on the east side of the beach and went under, according to Lorain County Metro Parks Director Jim Ziemnik.

Around 9:30 p.m., the teen’s body was recovered by emergency personnel, Ziemnik said.

The man’s body was recovered at 9:50 a.m., June 1, according to the release.

The Lorain County Coroner was on scene, Ziemnik said.

While park rangers and other agencies were interviewing witnesses on the packed beach late May 31, speculation is that the man attempted to rescue the teen when he became lost in the lake, he said.

However, details were not clear to investigators early June 1 as multiple agencies gathered at the beach watching the Lorain Police Marine Patrol unit and divers comb the area for the missing man.

Lorain police resumed the search at 8 a.m.

By 8:45 a.m., the U.S. Coast Guard sent a vessel to assist Lorain police with the search.

“At this point, we really don’t know what happened; it’s an extremely tragic, horrible story,” said Ziemnik watching the boats slowly search the east side of the beach.

Ziemnik said he has asked the question, “What could we have done differently to prevent this tragedy? And, the answer is nothing.”

The beach has been closed to swimming since last year when it closed for the season, Ziemnik said pointing to multiple signs throughout the beach area prohibiting swimming because there are no lifeguards.

The swimming area of the beach is designated to the western side because it is shallower than the side where the victims were last seen, he said.

“There’s a drop-off there,” Ziemnik said of the eastern portion of the beach.

Whether an undercurrent or riptide disabled the swimmers remains unknown, Ziemnik said.

The Lorain Fire Department, Lorain Police Department, Lorain City Dive Team and LifeCare Ambulance provided assistance, the release said.