A 6-year-old Newton boy died Sunday evening in a drowning incident at Lake Red Rock in northern Marion County.
According to the Marion County Sheriff's Office, at about 5:05 p.m. Sunday, visitors to the North Overlook Beach were alerted to a missing 6-year-old — Alexi Oquendo of Newton. The unresponsive boy was found a short time later in the water, about 25 yards from the shoreline.
Bystanders brought the unresponsive boy to shore, where they called 911 and performed CPR until medical personnel arrived on scene and took over. The boy was then transported to Pella Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Witnesses told police the boy was wearing a life jacket, but took it off before entering the water.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pella Police Department, Pella EMS, Pella Fire and the Marion County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Marion County Conservation, Pella Fire and Rescue, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the Des Moines Police Department, Central Iowa Underwater Search and Rescue, and the Medical Examiner’s Office.
Oquendo's death was one of two drownings at Lake Red Rock on Sunday evening. A short time after Oquendo was taken by ambulance, a 50-year-old Des Moines man, Daniel Tutor, was caught underwater after his kayak capsized, and rescuers were not able to recover his body for about 90 minutes. He was pronounced dead on scene.
Check www.newtondailynews.com for updates on this story.
Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com