Mercer Island Marine Patrol Assists in Drowning Victim Recovery Near Kirkland

Divers from Mercer Island, Seattle and King County recovered the body of a 54-year-old drowning victim from the waters of Lake Washington off Kirkland's O.O. Denny Park Wednesday night at around 10 p.m. last night, according to Kirkland Police.

Police say the man was attending a family outing there and entered the water sometime around 8:30 p.m. The man's wife and a bystander attempted to rescue the man after he went under the surface but were unable to save him, and were themselved aided to shore by emergency responders. Kirkland Police had both sides of the lakeside park on Holmes Point Drive blocked and were turning away motorists. Several aid cars, fire engines, ladder trucks and police squad cars filled the park beginning at about 8:40 p.m.

Kirkland Firefighters also reported in a Twitter post about that time that “Patient being removed from the water, 4 KFD swimmers bringing him out. Medical Group standing by to evaluate patient.”

Dive and marine patrol teams from Kirkland, Mercer Island, Seattle and King County police recovered the man’s body just after 10 p.m.

“He was at some type of family activity and might have simply gone after a ball in the water to retrieve it,” said Kirkland Police spokesman Sgt. Rob Saloum. “He had some difficulty and went under. Either family or bystanders went in to rescue him, but he had gone down too deep. Rescue crews helped some of those people out of the water.”