Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 4, 1993 TAG: 9308040492
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PEMBROKE LENGTH: Short
Divers pulled the body of DiLomonty Samuel Walker, 16, from the remote stream about two hours after he leaped into the water.
"He hit a big drop-off that was deeper than he thought," said Gwen Stowe.
Stowe, an official of Young Marines, a youth training organization to which Walker belonged, said the victim and about 35 other teen-agers were on a weeklong backcountry hiking and camping trip.
Walker apparently was frightened by the water's depth and stunned by its cold temperature, she said.
"They had him pulled within six feet of shore, but he fought them off," she said.
The incident remains under investigation by the U.S. Forest Service as an accidental drowning, said spokesman David Olson.
Young Marines is a national organization that emphasizes mental discipline and physical training for about 2,000 male and female youths, Stowe said.
She compared Young Marines to a combination of the Marine Corps and Boy Scouts.
Walker belonged to the group's Washington-area unit, one of 40 national chapters.
The drowning occurred between the upper and lower cataracts of Cascade Falls, a popular natural area visited annually by thousands of hikers.
Stowe, speaking from the organization's Michigan headquarters, said swimming skills are generally part of Young Marines' regimen. But she could not say if Walker or his group had received aquatic training.
by CNB