Candlelight vigil tonight; teenage life lost in tragedy at Havasupai Canyon
Snow Canyon Lady Warriors give tribute to K.J. Harrison who died on June 20, 2012. Taken at Dixie State Team Basketball Camp, St. George, Utah, June 21, 2012 | Photo courtesy of Jesse Shipp
ST. GEORGE – A candlelight vigil is planned for 9:30 p.m. tonight at Warriors Field, the home of the recently crowned 3A state champion baseball team at Snow Canyon High School, where Kreg Harrison, Jr. played infield, pitched and was instrumental in their run through the state tournament.
Harrison tragically succumbed to an apparent drowning Wednesday while visiting Havasupai Canyon with his Boy Scout Troop, Green Valley 6 Ward Scout Troop 1800.
Coconino County Sheriff’s Detectives are investigating the incident, with the assistance of Bureau of Indian Affairs Police Officers who are assigned to Supai Canyon and death investigators of the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office. The investigation is ongoing. Incident details included in this story are preliminary; among other things, the location of the incident is remote and communication with the investigators on site is limited.
The canyon, also known as Supai Canyon, is on the Havasupai Indian Reservation inside the Grand Canyon.
Gerry Blair, public information officer the Sherriff’s Department, said that at about 2:09 p.m. on Wednesday the BIA Police report having received notice of a visitor to the canyon who was a possible drowning victim in a pool of water at Mooney Falls.
A medical doctor and nurse from the Supai Medical Center and BIA Police Officers immediately responded to Mooney Falls.
Harrison had recently arrived in Supai Canyon with his Boy Scout Troop. The group was composed of 12 adults and 19 boys.
According to the release, Harrison and three other scouts were swimming in the pool of water immediately below Mooney Falls. The boys who were swimming with Harrison said they were attempting to swim near to or underneath Mooney Falls.
Investigators describe the pool beneath the falls as about five feet deep with a very strong undercurrent beneath and in the immediate area of the falls. Blair said he couldn’t say if the undercurrent is just an existing condition at this time or an ongoing condition.
“We’ve had incidents where folks have jumped and picked the wrong place to jump and died,” Blair said, and added that this is the first one reported as due to an undercurrent.
St. George News has received reports from scout family members that several of the boys jumped from the falls and Harrison took longer than usual to come to the surface. Blair said the BIA Investigator’s report will include witness statements which were still being taken when he obtained his preliminary information.
The boys saw Harrison struggle and go under the water. One of the other boys attempted to pull Harrison above the water, however the undercurrent was so strong that it almost pulled the second boy under as well. Eventually one of the other swimmers was able to pull Harrison to the shore.
Numerous people, including a medical doctor who was traveling with the scout troop and a BIA Officer, attempted to save Harrison’s life by administering CPR. After an extended period of time it became evident that life saving efforts were unsuccessful.
One of the adult witnesses said that two of the scouts were still trapped behind the falls. Adult leaders and boy scouts formed a human chain and rescued the two trapped swimmers.
An Arizona Department of Public Safety Rescue Helicopter flew Harrison’s body to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office in Flagstaff, Ariz., where the investigation will be continued.
The initial intent of the hiking party was to stay in the canyon until Friday and then hike out. However, in light of this tragic accident the boy scouts are being flown out of the canyon by helicopter today.
Sheriff Bill Pribil and the men and women of the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office have extended their deepest sympathies to Harrison’s family members, friends and fellow scouts.
Kreg Harrison, Jr. with his family, undated | Photo courtesy of Jesse Shipp
Reflections on K.J. Harrison
Harrison, known to his friends as K.J., was a champion, a fierce battler on the athletic fields and a young man with a bright future.
Such is the assessment from the coaches who knew him best.
I just can’t say enough about that kid,” said Snow Canyon High School Warriors coach Reed Sechrist last month, moments after the sophomore hit an 0-2 pitch into center field to help Snow Canyon beat Juan Diego in the first round of the 3A state playoffs. “He’s in the line-up because he’s a battler. He just never gives up.”
Snow Canyon Lady Warriors give tribute to K.J. Harrison who died on June 20, 2012. Taken at Dixie State Team Basketball Camp, St. George, Utah, June 21, 2012 | Photo courtesy of Jesse Shipp
Harrison tragically succumbed to an apparent drowning Wednesday while visiting Havasupai Canyon with his Boy Scout Troop, Green Valley 6 Ward Scout Troop 1800.
Coconino County Sheriff’s Detectives are investigating the incident, with the assistance of Bureau of Indian Affairs Police Officers who are assigned to Supai Canyon and death investigators of the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office. The investigation is ongoing. Incident details included in this story are preliminary; among other things, the location of the incident is remote and communication with the investigators on site is limited.
The canyon, also known as Supai Canyon, is on the Havasupai Indian Reservation inside the Grand Canyon.
Gerry Blair, public information officer the Sherriff’s Department, said that at about 2:09 p.m. on Wednesday the BIA Police report having received notice of a visitor to the canyon who was a possible drowning victim in a pool of water at Mooney Falls.
A medical doctor and nurse from the Supai Medical Center and BIA Police Officers immediately responded to Mooney Falls.
Harrison had recently arrived in Supai Canyon with his Boy Scout Troop. The group was composed of 12 adults and 19 boys.
According to the release, Harrison and three other scouts were swimming in the pool of water immediately below Mooney Falls. The boys who were swimming with Harrison said they were attempting to swim near to or underneath Mooney Falls.
Investigators describe the pool beneath the falls as about five feet deep with a very strong undercurrent beneath and in the immediate area of the falls. Blair said he couldn’t say if the undercurrent is just an existing condition at this time or an ongoing condition.
“We’ve had incidents where folks have jumped and picked the wrong place to jump and died,” Blair said, and added that this is the first one reported as due to an undercurrent.
St. George News has received reports from scout family members that several of the boys jumped from the falls and Harrison took longer than usual to come to the surface. Blair said the BIA Investigator’s report will include witness statements which were still being taken when he obtained his preliminary information.
The boys saw Harrison struggle and go under the water. One of the other boys attempted to pull Harrison above the water, however the undercurrent was so strong that it almost pulled the second boy under as well. Eventually one of the other swimmers was able to pull Harrison to the shore.
Numerous people, including a medical doctor who was traveling with the scout troop and a BIA Officer, attempted to save Harrison’s life by administering CPR. After an extended period of time it became evident that life saving efforts were unsuccessful.
One of the adult witnesses said that two of the scouts were still trapped behind the falls. Adult leaders and boy scouts formed a human chain and rescued the two trapped swimmers.
An Arizona Department of Public Safety Rescue Helicopter flew Harrison’s body to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office in Flagstaff, Ariz., where the investigation will be continued.
The initial intent of the hiking party was to stay in the canyon until Friday and then hike out. However, in light of this tragic accident the boy scouts are being flown out of the canyon by helicopter today.
Sheriff Bill Pribil and the men and women of the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office have extended their deepest sympathies to Harrison’s family members, friends and fellow scouts.
Kreg Harrison, Jr. with his family, undated | Photo courtesy of Jesse Shipp
Harrison, known to his friends as K.J., was a champion, a fierce battler on the athletic fields and a young man with a bright future.
Such is the assessment from the coaches who knew him best.
I just can’t say enough about that kid,” said Snow Canyon High School Warriors coach Reed Sechrist last month, moments after the sophomore hit an 0-2 pitch into center field to help Snow Canyon beat Juan Diego in the first round of the 3A state playoffs. “He’s in the line-up because he’s a battler. He just never gives up.”
Community mourns drowning of Snow Canyon High School student, baseball player
Candlelight vigil planned in Harrison's honor at the Snow Canyon High School baseball field
ST. GEORGE – The Snow Canyon High School community was shocked when the news broke late Wednesday afternoon of Kreg “KJ” Harrison, Jr.'s death.
Harrison, a 16-year-old St. George area resident who attended Snow Canyon High School, died after being pulled under a natural pool Wednesday at Mooney Falls in Supai Canyon and failing to come back up, according to the Coconino County, Ariz., Sheriff’s Department.
According to a media release from the Sheriff’s Office, Harrison was swimming with friends in a pool of water directly below Mooney Falls during a Boy Scout trip at the Havasupai Indian Reservation inside the Grand Canyon. Witnesses said they saw him struggle and then go under the water in a spot where the undercurrent is especially strong.
One swimmer tried to pull Harrison up, but was nearly sucked under as well, according to the release, and by the time another swimmer was able to pull Harrison out of the water, he was no longer breathing.
Numerous members of the Scout troop, including a medical doctor who was traveling with the group, administered CPR, but “after an extended period of time, it became evident that life saving efforts were unsuccessful,” according to the release.
Witnesses said two other Scouts were trapped behind the falls after the incident, and fellow Scouts formed a human chain to rescue the two trapped swimmers.
Harrison’s body was flown to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Snow Canyon baseball coach Reed Secrist gave his condolences, calling Harrison an “awesome kid.” Secrist said Harrison leaves behind his parents and five older sisters.
“I loved him like a son. It’s shocking that this even happens,” Reed Secrist said. “That’s the way life is. I feel bad for the family for his friends and all our guys. You wouldn’t meet a kid nicer than him. He did everything we wanted him to do. He had some of the funniest jokes. The way he went about his business, and he was a great kid down to earth. Obviously, heaven got a good one.”
*********************************************
Snow Canyon shocked by drowning death of baseball player K.J. Harrison
By Kyle Goon | The Salt Lake Tribune | First Published 4 hours ago • Updated 1 minute ago
The drowning death of 16-year-old Kreg "K.J." Harrison on Wednesday has left the Snow Canyon High School and greater St. George communities in mourning. Snow Canyon had a reason to celebrate at the end of the school year, taking home the Class 3A baseball championship. But the death of one of the players who helped deliver it has been nothing short of devastating for his family, his teammates and friends. Photos Join the Discussion Post a Comment "I can’t really believe it," coach Reed Secrist said. "He was definitely well-respected here, the type that didn’t have a bad thing to say about anybody. It obviously leaves a huge hole in our baseball program, but that doesn’t seem to be as important now." Harrison, a rising junior at the school, drowned in the Supai Canyon, located on the west side of the Grand Canyon near Flagstaff, Ariz. According to Coconino County Sheriff spokesman Gerry Blair, Harrison was visiting the canyon with his boy scout troop, and he was swimming in a pool of water beneath a waterfall. A strong undercurrent pulled him under, and three other scouts were unable to help him. When he was finally pulled to shore, a doctor who was travelling with the troop tried to administer CPR, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Other members of the troop created a human chain to rescue two more boys who were trapped under the falls. News of his death reached St. George on Wednesday afternoon. Harrison leaves behind his parents and five older sisters, as well as a large community who remembered him as a fun person to be around. Secrist’s own son, Brogan, was close with Harrison as a teammate as well as off the field. Reed Secrist said Harrison had been over many times, and since his death, his son had been struggling. "We’re trying to make sure they’re all right and help them through the grieving process," Secrist said. "K.J. was a good friend to everybody, and the team has been spending time together." Secrist said that many members of the community were planning to hold a 9 p.m. candlelight vigil on Thursday at the school. The St. George Spectrum reported that the vigil would be held on the baseball field, and mourners could sign a poster at the ceremony and donate money to help the family. Harrison played second base for the championship Warriors team. Secrist said the title he helped Snow Canyon win would always be a little more hollow without him.
No comments:
Post a Comment