Heat wave brings rash of drownings

At least four people have drowned during the current Puget Sound-area heat wave, and a fifth body was discovered yesterday off Bainbridge Island.

Yesterday evening two young girls were rushed to the hospital after they slipped underwater in Beaver Lake Park in Sammamish. One was in critical condition last night.

The body off Bainbridge Island was discovered shortly before noon, according to Bainbridge Island police Lt. Chris Jensen.

The man is described as white, about 5 feet 10 inches, with red hair and blue eyes. There were no obvious signs of trauma, and the body had been in the water only a short time, officials said.

Meanwhile, a 19-year-old man who drowned in Lake Tapps on Friday was identified as Brian Barney of Puyallup. And the body of another man approximately the same age was recovered yesterday from Lake Fenwick in Kent.

Two other Puget Sound-area residents drowned in accidents last week.

Scott Humberstone, 41, of Kirkland, drowned after falling off a friend's boat Wednesday night near Kirkland's Marina Park. And Tyler Wierda, 30, of Mill Creek, drowned Thursday while trying to swim across the Green River near Kanaskat-Palmer State Park.

In the Beaver Lake incident, a 7-year-old girl was in critical condition at Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center in Seattle after she and her 10-year-old sister nearly drowned shortly after 6 p.m. yesterday. The older sister was in satisfactory condition.

The two were swimming in the lake and slipped underwater while their mother wasn't paying attention, said Sgt. Kevin Fagerstrom of the King County Sherriff's office.

The only connection between the recent deaths seems to be the weather.

"With it being unseasonably hot, people are seeking relief," Lt. Pat Pawlak of the Kent Fire Department said. "People are going to where the water is."

Barney was the fifth swimmer to die in the Lake Tapps area, east of Puyallup, just offshore from the busy Lake Tapps North Park, since 2000. All were athletic males, said Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer.

Troyer suspects that the chilly water, in the low 50s, caused muscle spasms or cramps that led to panic.

There is no sign that alcohol or drugs were involved, he said. Barney was a senior at Emerald Ridge High School; several classmates were at the park together.

The young man who died in Lake Fenwick had also been swimming with friends when he slipped beneath the surface shortly before 9 p.m. Friday, Pawlak said. His body was recovered yesterday afternoon, but his identity was not released.

This article contains material from The Associated Press. Seattle Times staff reporter Mike Lindblom contributed to this report.