A passing boater’s photograph may be the 5 adults who drowned in Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Marcus L. Martin was instantly frightened Sunday when he saw five adults wading hip- and waist-deep in the Scioto River. The Baptist minister, who frequently boated on the Ohio waterway, knew the area they were in was dangerous. The people he captured in the photo The unfortunate group that drowned that day.
“I just remember being taught that this area was dangerous in terms of the steep hills and the rapid descent to the river,” he told The Associated Press. A few years ago, Martin warned a pair of teenagers playing in the water at the same spot to “be very careful.”
Following the description of the group provided by Delaware County authorities after the drownings, he spotted five adults in the water and two children playing on the nearby grassy shore.
Martin and his family flew away to enjoy a beautiful summer evening. But when they returned from the scene about two hours later and saw the group still wading down the river, Martin thought about taking a photo.
“I don’t know what happened. I just said I had to take this photo,” he said.
Martin said he knows the area well, having been boating there for 10 years, and considered warning people of the potential danger. However, unlike when he had warned two people before, there were two or three boats between them, and he didn’t want to cause too many waves in the water by passing through them.
He’s been losing sleep over this decision ever since news broke that five people had drowned that afternoon. “It feels surreal,” he said.
“I believe the photo I took may have been the last photo of them alive,” he said.
Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer said authorities believe one of the adults began struggling to swim and others in turn rushed to that person’s aid. All five were submerged and died. The bodies of two women were found on Sunday, and the other three bodies were found a day later.
Neither Balzer’s office nor the local EMS agency immediately responded to requests for verification of the photo and those seen in it.
Martin said he was certain the group he photographed were among the five people who died Sunday; It is rare to see people fishing or swimming in this part of the river. He said he tried to share the photo with both law enforcement and a reporter at the scene the day after the drownings, but no one was interested.
Honduran officials confirmed Tuesday that four in five adults are Honduran citizens. One of them was 33-year-old Jose Mario Pineda Dias, and the other was his wife, 28-year-old Marina Suyapa Regalado. The identities of the other couple and the fifth person have not yet been determined.
The Honduran government said it was working with the United States to bring the bodies home. The repatriation process may take at least a month.
The 8- and 10-year-old children of one of the couples became orphans due to the tragedy. They were initially detained by the state of Ohio, but arrangements were being made to reunite them with relatives in Honduras.
