A 21-year-old man from Mexico died Friday evening while swimming at Lake Nighthorse, according to the La Plata County Coroner’s Office.
The man, Eric Granados Barcenas, was swimming with two friends, also from Mexico, Coroner Jann Smith said. The three men were jumping into the water from a high height on the side of the lake, and Granados Barcenas jumped into the water and “didn’t come up,” she said.
Granados Barcenas’ body was retrieved around 6:20 p.m., Smith said.
An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday, but the presumed and probable cause of death is drowning, she said.
The Durango Police Department responded to the incident, DPD spokesperson Amanda Garrison said. Further information was not immediately available Monday.
A resident who requested anonymity said someone she knows – a child – called her, crying, as the incident was unfolding.
“It’ll affect her for the rest of her life, as it will for everybody who was there,” she said. “It sounds like there was a decent amount of people there all trying to do their best to help. ... It seemed like it was an incident of people having fun and underestimating the challenges of swimming in open water (and the impact) cold water can have on your ability.”
Lifeguards are on duty at the lake from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. beginning June 1.
The city of Durango Parks and Recreation Department did not immediately respond to request for comment Monday on which parts of the lake were open for swimming at the time of the incident or what guidelines may be in place for swimming before a lifeguard goes on duty for the season.
epond@durangoherald.com
