Rivers and lakes are like cancer.
They have hurt everyone. No one has remained untouched.
On an individual and a community level, this region's bodies of water are a cruel blessing, their beauty and bounty disguising their ability to kill, suddenly and unexpectedly.
Personally, I have known someone who drowned in a lake, a young boy in my school drowned in a river and the older brother of a high school classmate dove off a dock for some nightswimming into Okanagan Lake and landed headfirst in 18 inches of water. He survived that mistake but it put him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
If only we all thought about how deadly rivers and lakes can be, of how much pain they have caused us, before we fled to their comfort and serenity each summer. If we approached them with respect, perhaps all of us would come back after each visit.
Fifteen-year-old William Quail is the latest victim, last seen swimming with a friend in the Fraser River near the Hudson's Bay Wetland Nature Park. As tragic as his disappearance is, it won't be the last this year.
B.C. is in the heart of drowning season. July and August usually take turns being the worst months for drownings. When the mercury climbs, usually the death count goes up with it as more people flee to rivers and lakes for some cool relief.
A B.C. Coroners Service report in accidental drowning deaths from 2008 through 2013 found the Fraser River and Okanagan Lake are the two deadliest bodies of water in the province.
During that time period, Okanagan Lake took 21 lives and the Fraser was right behind with 19. Regionally, the Skeena River was responsible for six deaths.
To no surprise, more than 60 per cent of drownings occur in May through August. Nearly 80 per cent of the victims are male because boys of all ages tend to be risk takers who underestimate the danger and overestimate their ability to get out of trouble.
The age group of 20-29 year olds are the most frequent victims but age and experience aren't always enough. In 2012, 22 of the 87 people who drowned that year were between 50 and 59 years old, double the number of 20 to 29 year-old drownings.
Age, experience and common sense are easily defeated by the numbing effects of drugs and alcohol, which are contributing factors in nearly 40 per cent of the drownings in B.C.
Sometimes, they don't end in tragedy.
An eight-year-old boy riding his bike with his family along the Quesnel Riverfront Trail took a wrong turn and ended up in the freezing, fast-flowing water. His foam-lined helmet helped keep his head above the water, RCMP said, but he still would have died had it not been for Kimberly Friesen. The 28-year-old school teacher heard the cries for help as she was rollerblading along the trail. Although not a great swimmer, she took off her skates without hesitation and jumped into the water to pull the unconscious boy to shore, where others resuscitated him with CPR.
Two years later, Governor General Michaelle Jean presented Friesen with a Medal of Bravery for her actions.
That boy had no chance of survival without Friesen. As Prince George Fire Rescue captain Larry Obst explained in Friday's Citizen,
immersion in cold water drops your core body temperature 25 times faster than cool air and 250 times faster if that cold water is flowing and your body is pinned against an object and unable to move.
Fatigue and shock set in quickly. Even strong adult swimmers have only seconds, not minutes, to reach shore if they get into trouble.
The Quesnel incident was a rare instance where almost certain death ended in a miracle. Normally, there is no last-minute save.
The rivers and lakes are too big, too cold, too strong.
They are great for swimming, rafting and tubing, boating and fishing, especially during the hot summer months.
Going to the lake or the river is a Canadian summer pastime and Prince George is blessed to be surrounded by numerous bodies of water. Enjoy that blessing.
Get out there and have fun but be careful. Be alert and be safe.
The cold, refreshing water is wonderful for you and your family. It's your friend.
Until it's not.
-- Managing editor Neil Godbout
