A teen?s demise at a state park fell in line with a dismal statistic: Males make up 80 percent of drowning deaths, according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
“That could be because boys are more adventurous, in terms of taking risks,” said Dr. Eileen Oullette, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The 16-year-old boy, who was sunning on a rock, slipped away from his mother?s gaze and perished in churning dam waters at Patapsco Valley State Park, making him the 13th male to drown in Maryland in the past month.
The boy?s mother and two siblings called for help, but the teen was no match for the dam?s powerful hydraulics.
His body was found in the water ? where swimming is illegal ? by the Baltimore County Fire Department dive team at 6 p.m. Monday, only 1 1/2 hours after he went missing.
“It?s tragic that the young man had to do something like that while his mother and siblings were there,” said Lt. Vernon Adamson, spokesman for the Baltimore County Fire Department.
Six of the Maryland deaths were youths, who died while finding relief from the scorching summer heat.
“As the weather gets warmer and children get to play, water by its very nature is sort of a magnet,” said Richard Lichenstein, president of the Maryland chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
A child can drown after less than two minutes of being submerged, according to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
The department warns parents watching children to be vigilant, even if a lifeguard is supervising them.
“For children, it?s the issue of not being complacent, when you think you know what they are doing,” said Oullette.
“It could be a cookout, with 25 to 30 people there. Someone always thinks someone else is watching the child. Suddenly, it?s, ?Where?s Johnny?”
Drownings in the past 30 days
» July 3: Police have not released the name of a 16-year-old boy who was swimming illegally at Patapsco Valley State Park.
» July 3 : Quang Tran, 24, of Cherry Hill, was caught in riptide at Ocean City.
» July 2: Keith Alan Annon, 17, of Edgewood, was swimming illegally at Loch Raven Reservoir.
» June 27: Angela Haulsee, 29, Eric Depp, 19, Jesse Haulsee, 24, all of Myersville, were washed out of the bed of a pickup truck in Frederick County floodwaters.
» June 27: Michael White, 14, and Thomas Plunkard, 16, both of Ladiesburg, were swimming at Little Pipe Creek.
» June 22: Connor Freed, 5, of Davidsonville, was found floating in the Crofton Country Club pool.
» June 20: Jeb Bello, 32, was swimming late at night with friends in Spa Creek in Annapolis.
» June 17: John Walker, 48, and William Heislup, 47, both of Arlington, Va., fell out of bass boat in Oxen Hill.
» June 14: Nicholas Gouchnour, 18, of Elkton, went missing from Ocean City. He was found in Cape May, N.J., on June 28.
» June 6: Tyji Chester, 7, a boy with mental disabilities, was helped over a 10-foot fence into a Baltimore City pool in Central Rosemont.
