16-year-old boy drowns while swimming in Twin Lakes in Marysville

MARYSVILLE, Wash. -- “In the first short amount of time after someone goes under water, there`s a hope at some sort of resuscitation effort,” said Snohomish County sheriff’s Lt. David Bowman.

Rescue and dive teams wasted no time after a 9-1-1 call came in that a 16-year-old boy had gone under the water on the south side of Marysville’s Twin Lakes County Park.

“Our first arriving diver deployed in what we call a ‘hasty search’ where they go and abandon some of their safety protocols--they don't wait for another diver to be on standby.”

According to Bowman, that 'hasty search' is an attempt for a rescue--rather than recovery.

The sheriff’s office says when two boys entered the water along the shore of the south lake, neither was wearing a life vest. But they were only about 50 feet from a free life-vest loaner station.

“They get to be teenagers ... It’s their decision, I suppose,” said longtime park visitor Dale Subera.

A decision that likely cost the teenager his life. His body was recovered among debris in the water along the shoreline adjacent to where the teens entered.

The second teen was shaken but alive.

“It’s unfortunate, you know ... I feel for his family,” said Subera, who recalls other drownings there in the past.

Other park visitors say it’s a tragedy that could have possibly been prevented.

“If I’m going to go out on the deep end, I’m going to want to have some sort of floating device,” said Igor Sokolov, visiting the lakes from Portland. “It's just better to be safe than sorry.”