Man drowns while rescuing 2 sons

A St. George man drowned Saturday while rescuing his two young sons, who were struggling in the cold water of a Garfield County lake.

Scott Pederson, 32, was in a four-man pedal boat near the middle of Upper Barker Lake on Boulder Mountain Saturday morning when he saw his 5- and 7-year-old sons, who were swimming nearby, starting to have trouble keeping their heads above the water, the Garfield County Sheriff's Office reported. Pederson jumped in the water to assist the boys but quickly got into trouble himself and yelled for assistance.

Pederson's father-in-law and brother-in-law were on opposite sides of the lake, which is about 200 feet across, and both swam to the boat to assist Pederson, said sheriff's spokeswoman Becki Bronson. The two men were able to get the boys into the boat but turned around to find Pederson had slipped below the surface of the water.

Efforts by Pederson's family to locate him were hampered by frigidly cold water that is about 10 feet deep and murky, with a lake bottom covered with about 5 feet of tangled weeds. The Garfield County Search and Rescue Team responded to the incident and marked the spot where Pederson's family said he disappeared. Pederson's body was recovered about 6 p.m. Saturday by divers from the St. George dive team.

"Once you get into those weeds it turns pitch black and they grab ahold of you," said Sgt. Jeff Bailey with the Washington County Sheriff's Office. "It was a difficult job to find and release him for the divers."

Garfield County Sheriff Danny Perkins said Pederson's selfless act likely saved the lives of his sons.

"It is an absolute miracle that no one else drowned, and it was due to the heroic efforts of Mr. Pederson," Perkins said. "We express our deep condolences to his family and also want to recognize the additional heroic efforts of the Garfield County Search and Rescue and Mr. Pederson's friends with the St. George/Washington County Search and Rescue Dive Team."

Sheriff's deputy Kevin Moore reminded residents that the water in mountain lakes can be deceiving and recommended the use of flotation devices, even by adept swimmers.

"The mountain lake water may not seem as cold on the surface, but the more you get into the water, the temperature plummets rapidly," Moore said.

Bronson said the water temperature below the surface Saturday was 54 degrees.

"Tragically, in this case, the water temperature along with the undergrowth vegetation caused the drowning of a very strong and skilled swimmer," Moore said. "We strongly urge anyone that plans to swim in any mountain lake that they always wear a life preserver."

e-mail: araymond@desnews.com