Agassiz Observer, August 27, 2015

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2015

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Grieving families ask Village for action Visitors need to be made better aware of the risks of Harrison Lake, families say Lorene Keitch THE OBSERVER

BUSY SUMMER Call outs during July have kept Agassiz reghters busy.

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BEACH BANDS One more blast of summer music.

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Fire ban frustration . . . . 2 Salmon promises . . . . . 5 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Mail Bag . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Back to School . . . . . . 9 Classieds . . . . . . . . . 14

LORENE KEITCH/ THE OBSERVER

Family and friends of Daniel Reid and Gary Duong, two young men who died in Harrison Lake in June, were at a special Council meeting in the Village of Harrison Hot Springs Monday morning. They implored council to make the public better aware of the dangers at the lake.

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When Daniel Reid's body was found in the Harrison River by a passing kayaker, one arm was stretched out. The other was clutched to his chest. The man who found the body told Daniel's father, Bob Reid, that the posture didn't make sense until he found out what had happened. Daniel died trying to save his friend's life. And Bob Reid says, even before they found the two bodies, he knew without a doubt that his son would not have left his friend behind. He would have hung on until the very end. Finding the body in that position just affirmed it. The two young men drowned in Harrison Lake June 8 during an outing by eight friends on an inflatable raft. A single innocent choice by Gary Duong to take a quick dip in the water led to tragedy, with a world of sorrow and grief heaped on those left behind. Bob Reid explains that after Gary jumped in the water to swim around a bit, the wind picked up and the raft started floating away. Daniel realized what was happening and jumped in to help Gary, while the other six occupants of the raft madly tried to paddle and kick back. But the wind was so strong, Reid says the raft was starting to flip into the air and they had to move themselves around the raft just so they wouldn't tip either. Long after they had made a call first to a marina where they had paid to have their raft inflated, then to 9-1-1, the friends could see Gary and Daniel in the water, struggling. They thought the two would have made it to the nearby inflatable water park. But by the time Search and Rescue arrived, Daniel and Gary were gone. Bob Reid was one of several speakers at a special Council meeting in the Village of Harrison Hot Springs Monday morning. About a dozen friends and family filled the Chambers as part of the newly formed group 'Harrison Awareness', some wearing shirts that said 'the Dan', or with 'Gary' and 'Dan' written in the shape of a cross. They were there to urge Council to put up warning signs regarding the cold water. "My son died here. He shouldn't have," Reid said. "As visitors to your lake, we need to know the dangers. Our very lives depend on it." He told Council while they are "not asking you to wallpaper the lake," there is a little part the Village does have control of and he hoped Council will take the first steps in doing something. "Do what you can, do it as quickly as you can, and you'll save lives," said Reid. Continued on 2

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