At 5 p.m., Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to the Beasley Flat recreation area on the Verde River southeast of Camp Verde, in the Coconino National Forest. The initial report came from an uninvolved third party saying that a teenager had been swimming in the river and disappeared, according to YCSO.
Several people were looking for him, but were unsuccessful as YCSO arrived. Deputies began coordinating additional personnel to assist including DPS Ranger helicopter, Yavapai County Search & Rescue Backcountry Unit and Volunteers in Protection.
Camp Verde Fire District crews had already deployed and called out their Swift Water Rescue Team, according to YCSO.
Around 5:45 p.m., four members of their team went into the water where the boy was last seen and about 15 minutes later, he was located down river in about 4 feet of water at the river bottom. He was brought out of the water with no signs of life and pronounced deceased from apparent drowning, according to YCSO.
Deputies interviewed the victim’s uncle near the scene who told them he had taken his 8-year-old nephew to the east side of the river to look at some caves up on the cliff. They swam across the river, looked at the caves and started back across the river about 30 minutes later.
As they were nearing the shore the uncle, who was apparently carrying the boy on his shoulders, stepped in a deep hole and both went underwater. The uncle swam to the shore and turned back to get his nephew but he could not reach him. The boy slipped from sight and was not seen again.
The uncle began screaming for help and a person nearby called 911, but could offer very little information as he was not a witness to the incident. Several people nearby helped to look for the boy but they were unable to find him in the river or on the shore.
The boy’s mother was at home in Prescott Valley when the incident happened. She was escorted to the scene and briefed about the circumstances regarding her son’s death. A member of the Trauma Intervention Program arrived to aid the family with counseling services following this tragic incident.
“On July 4th at about 16:58 hours, the Camp Verde Fire District was dispatched for a report of an 8 year-old drowning victim in the area of Beasley Flats on the Verde River,” CVFD Jon Hilton stated. “It was reported that the victim was still submerged in the river, and had been for approximately 20 minutes. When the crew arrived on scene they made contact with family and a Yavapai County Sheriff’s officer. They were directed to the last known location of the victim, which was approximately 20 feet from the shoreline. A recon of the area was conducted to define the starting search boundaries.”
“Upon the arrival of additional resources, Beasley Command was established and the crews were briefed to begin a grid search starting at the last known location in the water,” Hilton stated. “Requests to dispatch were made for an Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter and YCSO Search and Rescue to assist in the search operation. A crew of three CVFD swift water rescue technicians entered the water in full protective gear at approximately, while another team of two personnel were used for shore based coordination and search.
“The depth of water within the search area was calm and between 1 foot to 7 feet deep.”
The U.S. Geological Survey gauge at Camp Verde was registering a flow of 40 cubic feet per second at the time of the incident. After completing the search in the primary grid area, it was expanded downriver approximately 50 feet, and the victim was located submerged in about 4 feet of water at 6:01 p.m.
“The victim was removed from the water to the shore and rapidly evaluated,” Hilton said. “There were unfortunately no signs of life, as the submersion time was over an hour by this time. YCSO officers were advised of the removal and condition of the victim, and they relocated to the scene.
“The victim was confirmed deceased, and incident command was terminated,” Hilton said. “CVFD Rescue 811 remained on scene for a short period of time to coordinate with and assist YCSO and to support the family of the deceased.”
