Divers search for woman at lake

Thursday, June 10, 2004 | 11:38 a.m.

Divers this morning were continuing to search a portion of Lake Mead for the body of a 37-year-old Las Vegas woman.

The woman, her 15-year-old daughter and their dog had been riding an air mattress Wednesday afternoon on the lake near Saddle Island when winds flipped them over, a National Park Service spokeswoman said.

Park Service divers resumed the search at first light today, spokeswoman Roxanne Dey said. A two-man dive team had stopped searching for the mother about 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

The family of Pete Khang was fishing on Lake Mead about 2:20 p.m. Wednesday and called for help after seeing an empty air mattress flipping across the water, propelled by the wind, Dey said.

Earlier the family had seen the girl, her mother and the dog floating on the mattress in the water. Neither the mother nor daughter wore life jackets. Only children under the age of 12 are required by law to wear life preservers at all times, but watercrafts must carry them in case of emergency.

The Khangs told park rangers they had warned the woman and girl how dangerous it was to float on the lake on the air mattress, Dey said.

Divers searched in water at least 110 feet deep, but found no sign of the woman. The lake appeared to drop off "considerably," the divers said.

Park Service rangers found the dog in the water north of Saddle Island about 2:40 p.m. Saddle Island is the location of two intake pipelines that supply the Las Vegas Valley with about 90 percent of its drinking water.

About 3:20 p.m., rangers discovered the 15-year-old girl on land and in good condition, Dey said. It had taken her about 45 minutes to swim to shore, Dey said.

The girl said she and her mother were on shore at Saddle Cove, about 5 1/2 miles from the U.S. 93 entrance to the park, just outside Boulder City. They decided to float out onto the lake on the air mattress, taking the dog along.

After a gust of wind blew the air mattress over, tossing the trio into the water, the wind continued to blow the air mattress farther and farther away from them, the girl told rangers.

The National Weather Service recorded winds of 15 mph to 25 mph at Lake Mead Wednesday afternoon with gusts to 26 mph.

Rangers found the mattress on Black Island about two miles northeast of Saddle Island, Dey said.

Park Superintendent William K. Dickinson reminded all lake visitors of the importance of wearing life jackets while swimming or boating at Lake Mead.

Backyard pool toys and air mattresses are not appropriate for use in natural bodies of water such as Lake Mead, Dickinson said.

There have been other drownings at the recreation area this year.

Two men drowned last month in separate accidents at Lake Mead and Lake Mohave.

Johnny Tran, 22, of Lakewood, Calif., died at Dollar Cove on Lake Mohave on May 22.

The second presumed drowning occurred on May 23 on the Arizona side of the Virgin Basin at Lake Mead, Dey said.

Vincent P. Petrilena, a 46-year-old Carson City resident, is still missing after he slid off a houseboat into the water. He was not wearing a life jacket. High winds caused the boat to move away from Petrilena and he was unable to swim back to the boat, Dey said.

There have been 22 confirmed drownings from 2000 through 2003, Dey said. In 2003 there were five drownings.

Unlike backyard swimming pools, the man-made reservoirs contain steep and sudden drop-offs, Dey said.

"We can't stress enough how important it is for those people on the lake to wear their life jackets," Dey said.