Authorities identify Omaha teen who drowned in Lake Manawa

Authorities identify Omaha teen who drowned in Lake Manawa
Law enforcement officials replace the buoys around the Lake Manawa beach after the body of a 15-year-old boy was recovered on Monday. (World-Herald News Service)
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has identified the teen who drowned in Lake Manawa on Memorial Day. Edgar Gregorio Loarca Garcia of Omaha is the boy who died, KMTV reported Tuesday night. He had rolled off an inner tube and into the water. Garcia is not believed to have been an experienced swimmer. The incident occurred about 1 p.m. The swimming area at Lake Manawa Beach will likely be closed for the rest of the week, the DNR told KMTV. The youth had gone there with two siblings. Council Bluffs Assistant Fire Chief Derrick Williams has told The World-Herald that three lifeguards were staffing the lake and a DNR boat was patrolling at the time. Additional boats and a drone were sent to assist. The boy’s body was found near the shore in the swimming area in water 3- to 5-feet deep. Rescuers used sonar to locate him, and the Omaha dive team assisted in retrieving the body. Williams said the teen had last been seen on the inner tube near the ropes that mark the end of the swimming area. It wasn’t clear if the boy had been inside the rope or between it and the buoys that restrict boating.
Share: