14 y/o baller drowns in Tampa Bay

[Carbon]

The fact that the mother understood how much he played paintball... and is going to do that... is truly amazing.

My parents know I play paintball on the weekend and play tournaments with friends. But I don't think they realize how much I love it.

RIP

freallz. This reminds me of my buddy Kevin who died of a heart attack. He surfed, and his parents buried with him the Silver Surfer action figure surfboard and some seashells.

[FallNAngel]

Dude, the water buoyancy is going to allow the father to pull the anchor and the boy up to the surface. Once the anchor and boy get above water, the true weight of both objects were probably too much for him. Plus imagine trying to pull something up when you're on a boat that is rocking back and forth, your hands are probably wet and your panicking.

Also it looks like there was a strong current because when the guy cut the anchor loose, the boat drifted away. If there was a strong current, it could have dragged the body further away from where he fell into the water.

That's sad to hear. Thoughts go out to the family...

I understand how that works. If you go back and read my post, I said I understood that he'd be able to pull them up to the boat, but not in. My question was why he didn't go in after the son. The water is 10' deep. Unless they're fishing in the raging rapids, I don't think the water would carry the body and the anchor that far.

[FunkyWhiteBoy#3]

poor kid, my best wishes to the family. when i die i want to be buried with my gear and gun. i say we should get a game dedicated to him or do something in his honor.

[jtm560]

that last line almost killed me!! thats so sad. i agree the world sucks. that boy had heart and spirt. I would like to pay my respecs to him and his mother. when i die i hope my parents barry me in my jersey and with my emag on my heart. i am very sad to hear one of my fellow ballers to pass on

[coolcatpete]

oh no

[jtm560]

poor kid, my best wishes to the family. when i die i want to be buried with my gear and gun. i say we should get a game dedicated to him or do something in his honor.

we could have a list of ppls signatures and a small phrase
pass it around and then email the link to his family to show that we r all in morning..

[Muzikman]

I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything... obviously I wasn't there and perhaps I'm just not understanding it right. Does this story sound kinda wierd to anyone else? I mean, the water is 10' deep. The father is able to pull his son and the anchor up, but not into the boat, so he accidentally cuts the line to the boat. All of this sounds fine up until the point where it took 20 minutes to find the son and get him out of the water. Why didn't the father go in after his son? Was it that difficult to dive in after him and start cutting rope?

As I said before, I wasn't there, so I can't comment on how hard it was to do this. It's always easy to be a backseat driver, and that's not what I'm trying to do. I really am sorry for their loss, it just sounds like something is off with the story.

Maybe the father couldn't swim?

[Skoad]

you must not have read the article. It says he jumped in and tried pulling him up

Wayne Hidalgo told her he then went overboard with their son still attached to the anchor as the boat drifted away, the mother said.

Gray told The Associated Press that the father made several efforts to grab the boy.

[Fatjon]

Man this is sad news but that last line really hits hard.

I have best of wishes for his family.

[WenULiVeUdiE]

Best wishes to the Hidalgo Family. It's sad to see someone this young pass.

[fcpchop]

man thats just horrible, the whole article was just so hard to get through without misting up, but after that last line it really got to me. i really feel so bad for the family, my thoughts are with them, i hope they realize how many people are praying for them, i no i am.

[FallNAngel]

Maybe the father couldn't swim?

Honestly, for some reason that just didn't occur to me... go figure

you must not have read the article. It says he jumped in and tried pulling him up

Actually I did, more than once actually... I remember reading that line, but for some reason, I just didn't "get" that line or something. I guess the kid must've gotten really tied up or something

[punkncat]

I'm not trying to start a flame war or anything... obviously I wasn't there and perhaps I'm just not understanding it right. Does this story sound kinda wierd to anyone else? I mean, the water is 10' deep. The father is able to pull his son and the anchor up, but not into the boat, so he accidentally cuts the line to the boat. All of this sounds fine up until the point where it took 20 minutes to find the son and get him out of the water. Why didn't the father go in after his son? Was it that difficult to dive in after him and start cutting rope?

As I said before, I wasn't there, so I can't comment on how hard it was to do this. It's always easy to be a backseat driver, and that's not what I'm trying to do. I really am sorry for their loss, it just sounds like something is off with the story.

Like yourself I am not trying to start anything , but I also felt like there was something fishy about the whole thing.
I guess it seems easy in your mind to say 10' of water isn't enough to cause something like this. I wouldv'e been able to ______ , or they could have _____.
But w/o being there , I suppose its just easier to deny this could have happened , than to admit that such a simple helpless mishap could take someone's life.

[Commissar_Loki]

:: lowers hat:: I believe a moment of silence to a true paintballer is in order.








My deepest sympathies to the family and friends. My thoughts and prayers are with the family.


-Butch

[minimag03]

That is really sad. Bless his family and friends.

minimag03