Because we didn't get up early enough to drive to the Outer Banks, we decided to spend the afternoon at Jordan Lake. When we arrived, rescue workers were getting their gear on, preparing to search the water for someone presumed drowned. They had evacuated the water and the immediate beach area, so we stood with the rest of the crowd on the perimeter of the beach area and watched as they searched. During their search, word had spread that a little boy had gone missing and that he was the one they were searching for.

Half an hour later, the rescuers pulled a small body out of the water behind the cover of a sheet. The crowd parted as the rescuers carried the body through on a stretcher, and as the ambulance sped away, they slowly, quietly re-entered the beach area.

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We learned a few days later that the person who had drowned was really not a young boy, but rather a 20 year old man. His limp body had looked so small that we did not question the rumor that it had been a young boy. This is the news article that we read, from The Herald Sun:

Jul 11, 2004 : 6:25 pm ET

PITTSBORO -- The body of a 20-year-old man who drowned Saturday was found just outside the ropes of the Seaforth Beach swimming area Saturday evening.

The drowning victim was identified as Gerson Emilio Alvarenga of Staley. He is originally from Central America, said Billy Totten, park superintendent for the Jordan Lake Recreation Area.

The drowning was the seventh drowning in 22 years at a Jordan Lake swimming area, Totten said.

Others have drowned in boating accidents or committed suicide in other parts of the lake, but the official beach swimming areas have had a good overall safety record, he said.

At about 5 p.m., Alvarenga and two friends had been in chest-high water within the ropes of the swimming area, Totten said. They were not wearing swimsuits or life jackets, and his two friends later told officials that they didn't know how to swim, Totten said.

When the two friends decided to head for shore, they looked around for Alvarenga, and he was nowhere to be seen, Totten said. At first, they weren't sure if he had already gone to shore or if he had gone underwater, Totten said.

Lightening delayed efforts to find Alvarenga, but divers found him about an hour later at 6 p.m., Totten said.

Signs in English and Spanish leading to the beach areas tell visitors that there are no lifeguards, but that there are free lifejackets for them to use. The trio did not use the lifejackets, Totten said.