Angling tragedy claims father and son
by Bob Wonders on 10 Sep 2009
Shallow Lake Okeechobee SW
Mystery surrounds the apparent accidental drowning of a father and son last weekend during a fishing tournament in Florida.
William ‘Al’ Reed, 67 and his son John, 38, died when they fell overboard from their boat shortly after the start of the Christian Team Trails Fishing Tournament.
The tournament was being staged on Lake Okeechobee in South Florida, not far from West Palm Beach.
According to a Florida Fish and Wildlife officer, Jorge Pino, competitors aboard another boat spotted William Reed in the water and hauled him onto their vessel and quickly returned to shore.
'Sadly, he could not be revived,' the officer said. Authorities spent 45 minutes searching before the body of John Reed was recovered.
According to Fish and Wildlife officers, the tragedy is difficult to understand. Both men were reportedly competent swimmers, though neither was wearing a life jacket. What makes the incident even more difficult to come to terms with is the fact that the water in the lake was little more than 2.0-metres deep.
Authorities believe the younger man may have fallen overboard first and his father jumped in to attempt a rescue.
They are looking into the possibility that John Reed may have had a heart attack, although relatives claimed he had no known health problems.
Nearly 50 boats were competing in the bass tournament and many were unaware of the tragedy until the competition ended.
One competitor, local man Jim Hurlock, agreed the lake was ‘pretty shallow.’
'It’s kind of hard to understand how something like this could happen,' he said.
William Reed was a retired Pratt and Whitney engineer.
He lived with his son and family in Tequesta, Florida.
John Reed leaves a wife, Julie Lynn and two children, Josh, 12 and Jessica, 3.
The State Medical Examiner is helping investigators as they try to piece together what happened to cause the tragedy.
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