Man drowned in King's Park pond while trying to save dog, police say

A 58-year-old man who drowned in a pond in King's Park in south Winnipeg on Monday night was trying to rescue his family's dog, police say.

Emergency crews were called to the park in Fort Richmond around 9:30 p.m. Monday, Const. Tammy Skrabeksaid.

A witness saidtwo men jumped into the water and pulled the man out. They tried to resuscitate him while waiting for paramedics.

Winnipeg police confirmed Tuesday morning that the man had drowned. The man's identity has not been released.

Skrabek said the man was out walking with his family when their dog jumped into the pond.

The man went after it and tried to rescue it, but became tangled in mud and plants, she said.

Man drowned trying to save dog, police say

6 years ago

Duration 2:08

A 58-year-old man who drowned in a pond in King's Park in south Winnipeg on Monday night was trying to rescue his family's dog, police say.

He was unconscious when the two men pulled him out of the water. He was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The dog, a four-year-old Maltese cross named Smokey, has since been found safe, said Linda Toderan, who witnessed the drowning and helped search for the dog.

'It was horrible'

Toderan said she hadn't met the couple before Monday evening, but went to help when she saw what was happening during her daily stroll. After the husband and wife went to the hospital, Toderanhelped their daughter search the park for the dog. When the call came that the man had been pronounced dead, Toderan took the daughter's phone number and continued to search.

She spoke to the man's wife on Tuesday afternoon to get the update that Smokey had been found, she said.

The husband and wife only got married last week, Toderan said. The woman told her she wants to raise awareness about the dangers of being near bodies of water.

"It seems like it's perfectly safe, but once you go in there and the muck grabs you and the grass and whatnot wraps around your legs, it pulls you under," Toderan said. "I think that's what happened to the gentleman."

"People just need to be aware of the dangers of being around water."

CBCManitoba Weekend Morning Showhost Nadia Kidwaiwas at the park Monday evening with her children when the man drowned. She said they were sitting on the bank of the pond with their view obscured by trees when they heard a woman screaming.

Kidwairan to where the screaming was coming from, further along the bank and saw the 58-year-old man in the centre of the pond, hishead coming above the surface of the water and then falling below it. A man ran out to help him but it appeared he was having difficulty, too, so another man ran out to join.

"One minute, the man who was drowning, his head would go under and you didn't know if he was lost again. And then eventually he got pulled to the edge."

A group of people stood on the banks, frozen and staring, Kidwai said. One of them had called 911 and emergency workers arrived shortly after.

"It was horrible, horrible," she said.

'Absolutely shocked'

A City of Winnipeg report from February 2016 says the lake and waterfall in King's Park have "fallen into disrepair." It recommends cleaning up the water features as the top priority for park renewal, including dredging the pond and disposing of material in it and removing existing vegetation.

A spokesperson for the city said in an email that the pond and waterfall wererefurbished earlier this year, and rooted vegetation was removed before the pond was filled at the end of June.

"Surface floating aquatic weeds are not removed and are a natural part of the pond's ecosystem," he wrote.

The spokesperson notedthere are two signs posted near the pond, stating "no wading, no swimming, no power boats, no dumping."

Kristin Mueller brings her dog Willow to the park regularly. She said the community of dog owners there is friendly and will be upset as word of the tragedy spreads.

She said some dog owners don't let their pets into the water because of the algae,but others do.

After the man's death, she said she'd like to see moresignagearound the water, including signs specifically mentioning the danger of becoming entangled in the weeds.

She said she found out about the death from another dog owner as she walked her dog in the park Tuesday afternoon.

"Shock. Really, I was absolutely shocked to hear that," she said."Last thing in the world I would ever think is that someone would drown here. It's unfathomable."