Two drown at Lakes Mead, Mohave

Tuesday, May 25, 2004 | 8:45 a.m.

Two men apparently drowned in separate incidents at Lake Mead and Lake Mohave over the weekend, heightening authorities' concerns about the crowds expected for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.

These were the first two drownings reported in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area this year, a National Park Service spokeswoman said on Monday. In at least one case, windy weather may have been a factor. One of the men was still missing Monday night.

In the first case, park rangers were called about 4 p.m. Saturday and told that a visiting off-duty paramedic was attempting to save the life of a 22-year-old man, Park Service spokeswoman Roxanne Dey said.

Rangers arrived at 83 Dollar Cove at Lake Mohave and attempted to revive the victim, Dey said. The victim, Johnny Tran of Lakewood, Calif., was pronounced dead at the scene.

The second drowning was reported about 2:30 p.m. Sunday on the Arizona side of the Virgin Basin at Lake Mead, Dey said.

Vincent P. Petrilena, a 46-year-old Carson City resident, slid off a houseboat into the water. High winds caused the boat to move away from Petrilena and he was unable to swim back to the boat, Dey said.

A woman on the houseboat donned a life jacket and dived into the water with an extra vest for Petrilena but was unable to reach him, Dey said. Park rangers and divers conducted a search in the 180-feet-deep water but could not find Petrilena, Dey said.

"At this time he is presumed drowned," Dey said Monday afternoon.

Since January the Park Service has responded to a boat accident and a death by natural causes in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Dey said.

There have been 22 confirmed drownings from 2000 through 2003, and one homicide at Lake Mead, Dey said. In 2003 there were five drownings.

In 2002 there were eight drownings and one homicide at the lake.

The Park Service warned that as the drought continues, the water levels at Lake Mead and Lake Mohave continue to drop and islands, sand bars and other features have emerged. Unlike backyard swimming pools, the man-made reservoirs contain steep and sudden drop-offs, Dey said.

The Park Service is reminding all visitors who boat or swim on the two lakes to wear life jackets during the holiday weekend and throughout the summer, Dey said.

The National Safe Boating Council issued similar advice on Monday at the start of national safe boating week. Among boaters, the Coast Guard reported that 750 people died in 2002, the last year for which complete statistics were available. Of that total, 85 percent of those drowned were not wearing life jackets.

"Our boating accident statistics show that wearing your life jacket is the No. 1 thing you can do to greatly increase your chances of surviving a boating accident," Rear Admiral Jeffrey J. Hathaway, Coast Guard operations policy director, said.