Update: Eureka Springs Man Identified as Second Weekend Drowning Victim on Beaver Lake
By: KARK 4 News
Updated: August 6, 2012
Update (August 6):
A second victim who drowned over the weekend in Northwest Arkansas' Beaver Lake has been identified.
Authorities say Michael Bonds, 34, of Eureka Springs drowned in the lake Saturday near the Blue Springs Village in Springdale.
Bonds was swimming with several other people when he began having leg cramps, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said. He was unable to swim to the boat because it had drifted too far away. One of his friends swam to get the boat to pick him up. When the friend got to the boat, Bonds had disappeared under the water.
The county dive team was dispatched and found Bonds' body 20 feet below the surface at about 6:45 p.m.
This was the second drowning Saturday at Beaver Lake.
Earlier in the day, a 39-year-old woman died after she saved her teenage sons from drowning, according to Alan Bland with the Army Corps of Engineers.
"We're doing everything we can, and as a water safety professional, to say this happened possibly two in one day, is the worst thing that could happen," Bland said.
This is the fifth drowning this summer at Beaver Lake.
Original story (August 4):
It was a tragic day on the water as authorities in Northwest Arkansas investigate two separate drownings on Beaver Lake Saturday.
The Benton County Sheriff's Office says they pulled the body of Kimberly Weavers, 39, out of about six feet of water just around noon.
Investigators believe she was trying to save her 13 and 15 year old boys who were in the water too.
The children are okay after a Lowell firefighter helped them to shore.
Shortly after, they pulled the body of a 34-year-old man out of the water near the Highway 412 bridge over Beaver Lake in Springdale.
A second victim who drowned over the weekend in Northwest Arkansas' Beaver Lake has been identified.
Authorities say Michael Bonds, 34, of Eureka Springs drowned in the lake Saturday near the Blue Springs Village in Springdale.
Bonds was swimming with several other people when he began having leg cramps, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said. He was unable to swim to the boat because it had drifted too far away. One of his friends swam to get the boat to pick him up. When the friend got to the boat, Bonds had disappeared under the water.
The county dive team was dispatched and found Bonds' body 20 feet below the surface at about 6:45 p.m.
This was the second drowning Saturday at Beaver Lake.
Earlier in the day, a 39-year-old woman died after she saved her teenage sons from drowning, according to Alan Bland with the Army Corps of Engineers.
"We're doing everything we can, and as a water safety professional, to say this happened possibly two in one day, is the worst thing that could happen," Bland said.
This is the fifth drowning this summer at Beaver Lake.
Original story (August 4):
It was a tragic day on the water as authorities in Northwest Arkansas investigate two separate drownings on Beaver Lake Saturday.
The Benton County Sheriff's Office says they pulled the body of Kimberly Weavers, 39, out of about six feet of water just around noon.
Investigators believe she was trying to save her 13 and 15 year old boys who were in the water too.
The children are okay after a Lowell firefighter helped them to shore.
Shortly after, they pulled the body of a 34-year-old man out of the water near the Highway 412 bridge over Beaver Lake in Springdale.
