Canton High School Senior Drowns In Lake

Editor

CANTON—Just one day shy of graduation, an 18-year-old Canton High School senior died while swimming with friends at Mill Creek Lake.

The drowning victim was later identified by authorities as Timothy Perez.

A joint effort to recover the teen was launched Thursday afternoon between Texas Parks & Wildlife and the Canton Police Department when a group of teens reported one of their friends went under water and never came back up.

Texas Parks & Wildlife Game Warden Steve Stapleton was notified at approximately 2:15 p.m. of the drowning victim.

"There was a group of high school kids out there swimming at Mill Creek Lake," Stapleton explained. "They didn’t have school today and there was a group of kids swimming from one pier to another pier, which is only 50 yards between the two."

"They got about halfway, and one kid started having trouble, and two of the kids tried to help him and he kinda pulled them down. They kinda had to push off and they said once they pushed off of him and came back to the pier he never came back up."

Stapleton said the teens had been out at the lake swimming for a while before things took a turn for the worse.

"They dialed 9-1-1 and Canton contacted me," Stapleton said. "Me and a Canton fireman made recovery pretty quick with body drags, right where they said he was."

Stapleton said Perez’s body was recovered an estimated 15 to 30 foot away from the pier he had been attempting to swim to. Flight For Life was coming in and started CPR, but was unable to save him. He was pronounced dead at the scene by Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Donald Kirkpatrick.

"The normal procedure on a drowning is to order an autopsy," Stapleton said. "There was no alcohol out there. I didn’t see any. To me, on the surface of it, it just looks like an accidental drowning."

Since Stapleton has been in Van Zandt County, he has worked at least 20 drowning incidents ranging from people driving their vehicles off into a creek and drowning, to a lake drowning at Lake Tawakoni, which is the more common spot.

Stapleton, who has been a game warden in Van Zandt County for nine years, said to his knowledge there has never been a drowning at Mill Creek Lake.

"Most people just fish out there, but they do have a swimming pier, so people do swim out there too, but this is the first incident of this nature that I can recall," Stapleton added.

"The worst thing a game warden does is drownings," he said. "Especially when they are that young and he was graduating tomorrow (May 30) night."