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TWO CHILDREN REMAIN MISSING AFTER LAKE
YALE INCIDENT
November 13, 2006
CONTACT: FWC Officer Kat Kelley (352) 427-6728
Law enforcement officers continued searching
Monday without success for two Marion County children, missing
since their family’s boat sank Sunday evening in Lake Yale.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission (FWC) law enforcement authorities said the missing
children are Katelyn Singleton, 2, and Eric Singleton Jr., 8.
FWC Officer Kat Kelley said three other family
members on board the 15-foot Century survived when the
24-year-old boat suddenly took on water and went down in 13 feet
of water shortly before sunset Sunday.
The children’s father, Eric Singleton, 36,
Summerfield, swam approximately 350 yards to a remote shore
carrying his 3-month-old daughter, Ashley Singleton, Kelley
said. He then trudged 1 ½ miles through swampy terrain, carrying
his daughter, before reaching a house and calling 911 at 10:21
pm. Ashley was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center.
Investigators have yet to determine what caused
the vessel to sink in the northeast section of the 4,030-acre
Lake County water body.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies scrambled
to the site after the 911 call and heard a faint cry for help,
which led them to the children’s mother, Michelle Singleton. She
was about 200 yards from the exposed bow of the boat, which was
2 feet out of the water.
She and the missing children had clung to each
other at the bow until they became separated. It is not clear if
the children were wearing life jackets when they became
separated, according to FWC investigators.
The 30-year-old mother was wearing a life jacket
when found at 11:40 p.m. She suffered from hypothermia after
spending nearly 6 hours in the 63-degree water before rescuers
found her. She was transported and admitted to Florida Hospital
Waterman in Tavares. The children’s father was treated at
Waterman and later released.
By Monday, officers from the Lake County
Sheriff’s Office marine units, helicopter and dive team joined
FWC officers in the search for the children. Additional dive
teams from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Seminole
County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the underwater search until
5 p.m.
Deputies from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office
provided high-tech side sonar search equipment until recovery
efforts were scaled back for the evening. FWC officers continued
sweeps of the lake throughout the night. Lake County Fire and
Rescue personnel were on hand throughout the search. The
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office dive team joined the search
at daybreak Tuesday.
FWC investigators said boating fatalities this
year are on track for another record year in Florida. Accidents
occur primarily on small craft and involve a single vessel.
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