Four victims who drowned in the Scioto River in Ohio while trying to save a distressed swimmer have been identified as two married couples from Honduras. Miguel Ángel Guerra and Carmen Idalia Lara Ferrera, both 33, and José Mario Pineda, 33, and Marina Suyapa Regalado Miranda, 29, lost their lives in the tragic incident on Sunday, according to officials from Honduras who confirmed the news to ABC News. The group of five adults and two children had gone on a fishing trip to the Scioto River in the Columbus suburb of Powell on Sunday evening.
When one of the adults went for a swim and began struggling in the water, the other adults attempted to rescue them. However, they were swept under the water due to the river’s strong currents, the Associated Press reported. The Honduran embassy in Washington, D.C., expressed its condolences to the families of the victims, stating, “The Government of Honduras mourns the loss of its citizens; we offer our prayers and deepest condolences to their families.” Flabia Zamora with the Honduran Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that they were working with U.S. authorities to bring the couples’ bodies home, and the repatriation process takes about one and a half months “once the documentation has been submitted and identities verified.” The two children, who reportedly belonged to Pineda and Miranda, are in the care of Ohio officials and will eventually be reunited with relatives in Honduras, according to Zamora.
Two people called 911 on Sunday to report seeing a child in a towel running along a highway near the river, with one of the callers telling the dispatcher, “There was a little baby. I think it was like a boy…He was like screaming, like crying — like, ‘Mama, mama!’” Lieutenant Heather Byers of Ohio’s Department of Natural Resources cautioned that even slow-moving water can be dangerous, saying, “Even though the water doesn’t seem to be moving very quickly, you can still get swept away in very slow-moving water.” Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer also warned that people should be aware of their abilities around water, advising, “Know your skill level before you get in the water. Are you a confident swimmer?” Sunday’s drownings follow another water-related tragedy, in which a fire department captain, his wife, and their three sons were killed on a hiking trip after a flash flood swept through a southern Utah canyon.
