BOX ELDER COUNTY, Utah (KTVX) – A father from Layton, Utah, drowned after jumping into Willard Bay to save his son, who had jumped in himself to save another person, according to Utah State Parks.
Andre Leon Debose, 38, was boating and swimming with his 17-year-old son and a few other people on Saturday afternoon, just before stormy weather hit the area. His sister, Anyea Debose, said he had just moved to Utah a few years ago to start his business.
“It’s been hard,” Anyea Debose told Nexstar’s KTVX.
Her brother, she said, was out on Willard Bay with his son and the son’s girlfriend when the incident happened. Amid the stormy weather, a 19-year-old woman began struggling in the water, prompting the man’s son to dive in to help her back to the boat, officials for Utah State Parks said.
This woman, identified as the son’s girlfriend, reportedly had a life jacket and was able to reboard the boat. But when Andre Debose saw his son struggling in the water as well, he jumped in to save him.
There was only one life jacket between the two of them, said Anyea Debose.
“He gave it to my nephew and he … went under the waters and did not resurface,” she told KTVX.
Park rangers responded to the area “immediately” to begin a search for Andre Debose, per a press release from Utah State Parks. The 17-year-old was evaluated and cleared by medical personnel.
“It’s been rough on the family,” Anyea Debose said. “Especially for my nephew, who was there and visually saw my brother go under and not resurface. … He’s blaming himself. It’s coming to a point where the survivor remorse is kicking in.”
Anyea Debose has set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to cover her brother’s funeral expenses and support his three children, who are devastated by the loss.
“My other nephew, who didn’t go … said, ‘If I was there, I would have been able to operate the boat to get it back to him,'” Aneya Debose told KTVX. “There’s a lot of unanswered questions.”
She is now remembering her brother as a family man, just like their father. And she’s also urging others to be safe while recreating outdoors.
“This was an unforeseen event that happened,” she said. “He had so much life ahead of him … I would want the Utahns to know that life can have unexpected events befall us.”
Saturday’s incident marked the second drowning death at Willard Bay State Park last week, after a father and son from Weber County, Utah, got caught in a storm while swimming. The son was able to return to the boat, but his father, identified as 51-year-old Robert Mittendorf, went under and did not resurface.