Thursday June 20, 2024 | LANGFORD, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Five days after being rescued from a near-drowning incident in Langford Lake, 17-year-old Keron McKay(who also went by Dequan McKay) died yesterday June 19, in hospital.
He had been given CPR at the rescue scene for 28 minutes, it was stated by the family on their GoFundMe page.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family of five with medical costs, transportation and food while the teen was in the hospital.
This tragic incident has caught the attention of the broader south Vancouver Island community for how dramatic an event it was on an otherwise nice sunny Sunday afternoon at a popular urban lake.
ORIGINAL NEWS REPORT from JUNE 15, 2024:
Yesterday afternoon, June 15, a 17-year-old male was rescued from Langford Lake in critical condition. [As of Monday June 17 he remains in critical condition, according to West Shore RCMP]
Langford Fire Chief Chris Aubrey told media yesterday that Langford Fire Rescue’s fire rescue boat was deployed just after 2 pm for a water rescue at Langford Lake at which the patient was “unresponsive”.
“Witnesses advised they saw a young male swimming in the lake go under water and not resurface,” says West Shore RCMP Media Relations Officer Cpl Nancy Saggar in a news release on Monday June 17.
“Prior to emergency services arriving on scene, several bystanders had pulled a 17-year-old male out of the water onto a floating dock, approximately 200 feet from the main dock,” said Saggar.
“We responded with our fire boat to assist with the rescue and to support BCEHS and RCMP who were attending to a patient on the swim dock just off shore,” says Langford Fire Rescue Chief Chris Aubrey.
“As the patient was out of the water, our role was to transport first responders and the patient to and from the swim dock while BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) attended to medical needs,” said Aubrey in a statement to Island Social Trends today. “Bystanders were doing CPR before we arrived,” says Chief Aubrey.
“Bystanders administered life-saving measures until emergency services were able to get to the dock,” says Saggar.
The rescued teen required immediate medical assistance and was transported to the hospital in critical condition, according to BCHES in a statement on Saturday evening.
Emergency services:
All of RCMP, BCEHS and Langford Fire Rescue attended the scene.
Bystanders in two boats ferried emergency personnel over to the floating dock, according to Saggar with the RCMP.
“There were many bystanders who acted quickly to help this young man. There were witnesses who called police right away, others than jumped in the water and applied life-saving measures, and boaters who quickly ferried emergency personnel over to the floating dock,” said Stephen Rose, OFficer in Charge of Operations, West Shore RCMP.
“We want to extend our sincere thanks to everyone involved,” said Rose in a news release on June 17.
Weekend timeline:
As of Sunday afternoon, there was no confirmation of age, gender or drug/alcohol status of the injured person.
Four lakes in Langford:
There are four lakes in Langford: Langford Lake, Glen Lake, Florence Lake and Lake Ida Anne. A small portion of Thetis Lake Regional Park also falls within the Langford boundaries. Dogs are prohibited on Langford beaches from June 15 to September 15.
Langford Lake is in the Westhills area of Langford near the YM/YWCA.
Lake incidents:
“Incidents at any of the Langford lakes are relatively rare,” says Chief Aubrey. “We get one incident about every four to five years, so they are not common.”
There was an incident in September 2019 when a woman was found dead at Glen Lake.
Thetis Lake is usually attended to by Town of View Royal fire rescue, for the incidents that occur there probably too frequently (cliff jumping into the lake being popular there).
Water safety reminder:
“With the popularity of our regional parks and lakes it is always a good reminder about safety tips from the Royal Lifesaving Society,” says Aubrey.
- Always swim with a buddy
- Children should always be supervised around water.
- Wear a life jacket whenever you are in a boat.
- Alcohol and water don’t mix. Don’t drink and swim, or drink, while boating.
In 2022 there were 86 deaths by accidental drowning in BC.