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LAKE POWELL — A 46-year-old man drowned over the weekend in Lake Powell, officials said Thursday.
On Sunday, Justin Shannon, of West Jordan, was with a group of friends in Wahweap Bay on a private boat when one member of the group jumped in the water without a life jacket.
High winds began and the swimmer began to struggle, leading Shannon to jump in to help, National Park Service and Kane County Sheriff’s officials said in a joint statement. Shannon, who was not wearing a life jacket, also began to struggle and the windy conditions soon led the boat to drift away from the two swimmers.
A device was thrown toward, Shannon but he was unable to grab it.
The boat was able to return near the swimmers and another passenger onboard jumped into the water and saved the first swimmer by getting them into a life jacket, officials said.
That person also grabbed Shannon, who was underwater, and brought him aboard where they administered CPR. Shannon was taken about 1 mile south to the Statelines launch ramp.
Authorities were called to the scene at 6:33 p.m. When park rangers arrived, they found two off-duty volunteer firefighters administering CPR to Shannon.The rangers continued CPR and tried a defibrillator but were unable to revive Shannon.
Classic Life Guard Air Medical and Utah State Parks and Recreation personnel responded to the incident as well.
Shannon did not respond to medical intervention and was pronounced dead at about 8 p.m.
His body was transported to the Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office in Salt Lake City for autopsy, and he incident is under investigation by the sheriff’s office, park service and medical examiner’s office.
Sunday's drowning is the second in Lake Powell since the summer began. The first occurred last week and killed a 30-year-old Arizona man.
In light of the deaths, officials advised boaters to be aware of changing weather conditions and reminded swimmers to always wear a life jacket when recreating in or near water. More safety information can be found here.
