Boy Drowns At Kirkland Beach

KIRKLAND

A 15-year-old boy swimming with friends after a birthday party drowned yesterday at a Kirkland beach, even though lifeguards were on duty.

Heang Chhour of Renton was swimming at Houghton Beach Park when he disappeared around 6:30 p.m., said Kirkland Fire Battalion Chief Joe Sanford.

Chhour and a friend swam out to a dock, then headed back to shore, Sanford said. The friend made it to the beach, and Chhour simply wasn't there.

"There was no call for help; no indication there was any problem at all," Sanford said.

Sanford said Chhour's friend looked for him first and then asked others to help. When they found the boy, they pulled him to shore and performed CPR until medics arrived.

Rescue workers tried to resuscitate him for 45 minutes. He was declared dead at 7:15 p.m.

`It's a hard one because a lot of the messages we talk about (to kids) are to `always go with a buddy,' " Sanford said. `"e was with a buddy. It just doesn't always prevent everything."

It was the fourth drowning in four years in Kirkland and the second this month. Jamie Martinez, 22, of Bellevue drowned July 6 at Waverly Beach Park, a mile north of downtown Kirkland.