ROGERS -- It was warm the day Stacey Hernandez died on Beaver Lake.
The sun was shining, said her cousin Reagan Duran. The family had gathered for a spring break getaway. That Tuesday, March 24, was their first day together and Hernandez, her sisters and a nephew went out on the water in a paddle boat and canoe.
Checklist
• All children 12 and younger must wear a life jacket while on the water.
• Everyone on board a personal watercraft must wear a life jacket while on the water.
• Boaters are required to carry a life jacket of appropriate size for every person on board.
• Fire extinguishers are required to be on board in federal water, including Beaver Lake.
• Boats are required to be equipped with a horn, whistle or bell in federal waters, including Beaver Lake.
• Boats longer than 16 feet must be equipped with a type IV personal flotation device that can be thrown to someone in the water.
• Boater education certificates are required for drivers born after 1984.
• Boating accidents must be reported if damage to property exceeds $500 or if a person is injured, dies or disappears.
Half of all recreational boating fatalities occur in calm water, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard recommends boaters wear, not just carry, a life jacket while on the water.
Source: Staff Report
Stacey Hernandez legacy
The family of Stacey Hernandez, who drowned March 24 on Beaver Lake, will give away 200 life jackets and provide water safety information June 6. A garage sale and silent auction will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Southside Church of Christ, 919 S. Dixieland Road. Burgers and hot dogs will be for sale. There will be inflatables for children, face-painting and booths from local agencies.
The family hopes to raise awareness about the importance of life jackets and money for Hernandez’s son and the agencies that helped find her body.
Source: Staff Report
The water, Duran said, can be unforgiving.
The boats overturned and four of the group made it back to shore, but not Hernandez. They'd only been on the water for a few hours, Duran said. Hernandez, 21, was nearly the same age as Duran's daughter. She left behind an infant son.
"It just takes a second and there's no getting back," Duran said.
The two weeks of waiting and searching before Hernandez' body was found was an emotional roller-coaster for family members who never knew what each day would bring, Duran said.
In all the years she lived near Beaver Lake, Duran never thought she'd be walking the shoreline looking for a family member, she said.
A life jacket could have saved Hernandez, Duran said. She was a great swimmer, but that wasn't enough. A current pushed the boat away. The water was cold and hypothermia was ruled a contributing cause to her death.
People need to be prepared before they go out, Duran said. Currents, wind, water temperature can all change the lake.
Members of Hernandez's family plan to give away life jackets in a few weeks at an event organized in Hernandez' memory.
Every person on the lake is required to bring along a life jacket, but stashing it under the seat is not close enough, Duran said. If a boat is on the water, everyone on it should be wearing a life jacket.
People think, "I'm a lake person" and won't put on a life jacket, Duran said. Accidents happen, she said. Her cousin is the second person she's known to drown on Beaver Lake, and both were familiar with the water.
"People get very comfortable," she said.
WEEKEND INSPECTIONS
Lake patrols this Memorial Day weekend will inspect boats to make sure boat operators are following the law, but what deputies hope to prevent is drownings, said Sgt. Rich Gauert with the Benton County Sheriff's Office.
"I don't think people could possibly imagine what it is like for a family to lose sleep and complete function of their daily lives waiting from someone to find their loved one who drowned at the lake," Gauert said.
There have been 116 drowning deaths at Beaver Lake in its history and two so far this year, said Alan Bland, park ranger with the Army Corps of Engineers.
A drowning victim in Beaver Lake is statistically likely to be a man between 18 and 35 years old, Bland said. A call about a drowning is most likely to come in on a Sunday afternoon. Maybe it's someone jumping off a bluff or being thrown from a boat or maybe it's just a day swimming that turns tragic.
"We know one thing before we even go out there: They weren't wearing a life jacket," Bland said.
Often the person was familiar with Beaver Lake or lived in the area.
"They've kind of lost their respect for the lake because they've been here a thousand times," he said.
Life jackets prevent drownings, Bland said.
Swim beaches have life jackets set up at loaner stations, but people have to stop and put them on.
There were four downing deaths on Beaver Lake last year, Bland said. One was a 17-year-old boy who drowned in 7 feet of water while swimming in Horseshoe Bend. He could have picked up a life jacket from the station at the swim beach.
"That's not the first time we've recovered people in 6, 7, 8 feet of water," Bland said.
A ski vest can be bulky, but there are alternatives, Bland said. Some vests automatically inflate once a person hits the water. The flotation is powerful enough to right an unconscious person. Once inflated, the vests are reflective and highly visible.
"There's no more excuse," Bland said.
An inflatable vest has to be worn for it to be recognized in a boat inspection.
LAKE RULES
There will be two patrol boats from the Corps of Engineers and four from the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission on the water all weekend, Bland said. The Benton County Sheriff's Office will have two boats on patrol and four personal watercraft, said Deputy Anthony Rogers.
During the first busy week of summer, he'll write more warnings than tickets, Rogers said.
"A lot of people who bring watercraft to the lake have no concept of what needs to be on them or what the rules of the water are," Rogers said.
Deputies or rangers ask each person to hold up a life jacket during an inspection so they can tell there's enough for everyone on the boat. One of the most common infractions inspectors see is adults holding up child-sized life jackets, Bland and Rogers said. The life jackets don't count unless they fit.
Children 12 and under must be wearing a life jacket while in the boat. Anyone on a personal watercraft must have on a life jacket.
Boats are to be equipped with a fire extinguisher. A boat longer than 16 feet needs to have a ring buoy or other flotation device that can be thrown to someone overboard. All boat operators born after 1984 are required to have a boating education card and a watercraft with more than 50 horsepower needs to have insurance.
The infractions Rogers can't ignore include boating while intoxicated and underage consumption of alcohol, he said. The blood alcohol content limit for boaters is the same as vehicle drivers, 0.08 percent.
Impaired drivers are a hazard on the lake. The effects of the alcohol seem to work faster in the sun, Rogers said. Boaters often have difficulty keeping up with how much alcohol they've consumed, he said.
"You want everybody to have a good time, but everybody needs to be safe." Rogers said.
You can buy alcohol in Benton County, Bland said, but that doesn't make public consumption in a campground or on a boat legal. So-called "open container" laws still apply.
Bland estimates about half the boating accidents on Beaver Lake involve alcohol.
On April 19, a Seligman, Mo., man drowned in Carroll County and alcohol was believed to be a contributing factor, Bland said. Four people were out on a 10 or 12-foot flat-bottomed boat and it capsized. An emergency call was made at 2:30 a.m.
HIGH WATER
Rogers anticipates more speed boats out on the lake this year. There's already been an increase in kayakers and the mix of watercraft on the lake means boaters need to pay special attention, he said.
Visibility under the water is low, Bland said. Swimmers should check before jumping in and he recommends a lookout help the boat driver keep track of debris. Floating or partially submerged logs will be a hazard for the next couple of weeks.
Heavy rain has pushed debris from the shoreline into the lake and it is moving north. From Prairie Creek south, debris, logs and limbs are in the water, even in the center of the lake. Higher water levels may also have changed landmarks or cover sandbars.
"The lake hasn't been up this high in a couple years," Bland said.
Memorial Day weekend is typically the biggest weekend at Beaver Lake. Marinas and campgrounds are open and ready for the crowds, he said.
"We're ready and we're excited for everybody," Bland said.
NW News on 05/23/2015