A mother's harrowing tale after boat sank on Fish Lake

KOOSHAREM, Sevier County — Heather West held tightly to her 3-year-old son in the freezing, cold water of Fish Lake on May 29. That's the last thing she remembered.

"I just kept telling myself that I needed to get him as far as I could because when I went under, I needed my 18-year-old to be able to get him the rest of the way."

Heather West, her husband Ryan West, and their five sons were visiting Fish Lake for an annual family tradition. As part of that tradition, the Wests, who live in Las Vegas, went out for what was meant to be a short fishing outing on the lake.

"We've gone every summer with the whole extended family, and we always try to stay at the same campsite," she said. "It's one of my kids' favorite things."

"I grew up around the water," she added. "I was a collegiate diver. I am a very strong swimmer, but along with that, we have taught all of our kids to swim. I'm also very cautious around water."

Even though Utah law allows anyone over the age of 12 to be in a boat without a life jacket, all of her sons, ages 18, 16, 13, 9 and 3, had life jackets on. She explained that her husband had also put one on before getting in the boat, but that she had hers sitting next to her in the boat.

"After I had taken a picture of the boys all in the boat, I got in, and we just took off," she said. "It was a really pretty day."

For the next 45 minutes, the trip was typical, with one child even catching a fish. Five minutes after the catch, the wind started to pick up and clouds started rolling in.

'It just went down immediately'

"We looked up and there were storm clouds coming in," she recalled. "Immediately, my husband said, 'Alright, guys. We gotta' reel in and go back.'"

Within just a few minutes, lightning and thunder started.

"It just came in so quick," Heather West said. "The wind picked up super high, and my 16-year-old said he felt a splash on his back, thinking it was waves. Then he felt another really big one and he looked back and said, 'Dad, there's water in our boat.' By the time my husband and I turned around — it was 10 seconds, honestly — our boat was halfway underwater and then it was gone. We didn't even tip. It just went down immediately."

West said she and her family had no time to react and were suddenly in freezing water, wearing layers of clothes and shoes. She was the only one without a life jacket on and watched the wind blow it away.

"It was kind of like shock and confusion trying to figure out what happened and all of a sudden, we went into action," she said. "My husband knew I didn't have a life jacket, so he grabbed the seat cushion and then he grabbed our 3-year-old and handed him to me. He said, 'You need to try to swim.'"

West recalled holding the cushion under her left armpit and holding her 3-year-old son in her right arm while her husband managed the couple's other sons.

'I didn't have high hopes'

"I took our 3-year-old, Jackson, and turned and I saw the shore," she said. "Honestly, I didn't have high hopes. I was really scared. It was far away."

With the waves getting bigger, she found herself working hard to keep her toddler's head above water.

"(Jackson) was screaming, but at that point, I didn't want to calm him down because I knew if he was screaming, then he was breathing," she said.

Hypothermia was setting in, and West knew she didn't have anything left to give. Her 18-year-old son Blake West was swimming nearby and she said that her goal was to get Jackson as close to shore as she could so that she could pass him to Blake.

"I had gotten to where I had almost made peace with (dying)," the mother said. "I've heard people with near-death experiences say that they had a peace come over them, and I felt that peace come on. I turned to Blake and I told him, 'I need you to take Jackson.' I knew I was about to slip under."

'If you're holding him, you won't let yourself give up'

She held on to the cushion and felt herself slipping away. As she did, she had another thought.

"I had this feeling come over me that said. 'You can't make your 18-year-old choose between his mom and his 3-year-old brother. You need to take Jackson back to save yourself because if you're holding him, you won't let yourself give up. Your mind, your soul, your body will not give up on him.'"

She turned back to Blake and pleaded with him to give Jackson back to her, and after some coaxing, she said he "realized what (she) was saying."

"I put my hand back under (Jackson's) bum, held onto him and and just started kicking. That's the last thing I have a memory of," she said.

After about a 25-minute swim to shore in freezing water, the family of seven reached the shore. Blake stayed with his mom, who lay unconscious, while Ryan West and the others ran up to the road. Right then, two trucks appeared. It was a group of leaders and young men there for a church activity. One of the leaders was Brian Stock of Santa Clara.

Stock said that, due to the weather, they decided at the last minute to visit the historic Fish Lake Lodge rather than go fishing. It was on that drive, when they came upon the West family waving for help.

'She was willing to give her life to save her child'

"We got out of the car and ran over and saw Heather's lifeless body on the shore," Stock said. "She was just pale white, soaking wet and still partly in the water. It looked like she was dead or near-dead."

Stock works with the Mojave County Sheriff's Office, primarily at the Arizona strip. He spent several years working on water rescues at Havasupai Falls. He said that when he heard what had happened, it brought him to tears.

"You just kind of jump into help mode and your survival adrenaline goes," he said. "When I heard later that she swam to shore with her 3-year-old in her arms without a life jacket of her own — it's the part that gets me choked up. She was willing to give her life to save her child. She exhausted herself getting to shore.

"That day, the water was in the low 50s and the waves crashing," he added. "There were whitecaps on the water. The wind's blowing. Snow's coming down, and this mother, selflessly — I'm sure without thought — does what it takes to get to shore to save her child. It was absolutely amazing."

Holding on to her child was what saved Ward, but she wouldn't know for several hours if her efforts paid off. She said that even after she regained consciousness, she remained in a state of emergency and hopelessness.

"The first thing I remember was realizing that I didn't have Jackson in my arms," she said. "I remember I was in the shower, and I didn't realize that I was in the shower; I just knew I had water coming at me. I think I had put myself back into the lake and I realized I didn't have Jackson with me. I just started screaming because he was gone. I knew I had lost him."

When she had fully regained consciousness, she learned they had all survived. And one by one, her husband and each one of her sons came.

"Once I saw Jackson, it just took my breath away because I was so sure that he was gone," she said.

'Don't play the blame game'

Heather West recalled many miracles that day as she looked back on what she described as "tender mercies" that led them all to make it out alive. Even so, over the past several weeks, what transpired has replayed in her mind and in the minds of the entire West family as they recover physically and emotionally from the events of that day.

Stock said that over the years of encountering moments like these, and he advises not to "play the blame game."

"I've been around this a lot," he said. "There's going to be a lot of emotions and people are going to wonder why or how come or what we could have done differently. Don't question that stuff. The reality is that everybody is fine. Everything worked out. Don't let emotions become anger or doubt; just celebrate that everyone's alive."

And Heather West is doing just that.

"We know that so many miracles happened to our family that day and we are so grateful that we were able to make it out alive," she said. "This was truly the worst day of Ryan and I's life, but to know that we still have our family together when, realistically, we know that the outcome most likely should have been different, we are eternally grateful."

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