Four women who witnessed a man’s drowning Friday at Lake Nighthorse are calling on Durango Parks and Recreation to increase safety measures at the reservoir.
Eric Granados-Barcenas, 20, of Dallas, Texas, became fatigued after swimming in the lake for about 30 to 40 minutes and was unable to make it back to shore, according to a news release from Durango Police Department. Authorities responded to the incident just after 3:30 p.m., the release said.
He was swimming with three friends at the time of the incident.
The witnesses – Liliana Simon, Lyndsey Parrott, Ava Castelaz and Brielle Smith – were enjoying the day on a dock adjacent to the one where Granados-Barcenas and his friends were swimming, they said in an interview Tuesday.
The women said Granados-Barcenas swam out to the perimeter of the swimming area and sat on a buoy for about 30 minutes before attempting to swim back to shore.
“It was pretty clear he wasn’t a strong swimmer, but it didn’t occur to us he wouldn’t make it back,” Castelaz said.
The group and other bystanders reacted quickly once it became clear the man was struggling to stay afloat, she said.
Bystanders began searching for the man in the water while Castelaz called authorities. The 911 call was made at 3:33 p.m., she said, and Durango Police officers arrived seven minutes later, according to her phone call log.
The water was murky, and it was difficult to locate Granados-Barcenas despite many bystanders helping to search, the women said.
A Durango Police Department news release said Granados-Barcenas was underwater for an “undetermined amount of time” before officers arrived on scene.
Simon, Parrott, Castelaz and Smith said the man was under water for about 15 minutes before being retrieved by a bystander who used a mask and snorkel to dive for the man.
The bystander and a law enforcement officer pulled Granados-Barcenas onto a resident’s boat, where CPR was performed, the women said.
They said they overheard medics pronouncing Granados-Barcenas dead at the scene after loading him into an ambulance.
The women said a few minor safety features may have helped save the man’s life – and could make swimming at the lake safer for all visitors.
They said there were no signs warning that no lifeguard was on duty; no flotation devices – like ring buoys – were positioned near the swimming area; and no Automated External Defibrillator, or AED device, or CPR instructions or resources were onsite. If some of these measures had been in place, the group feels the outcome of the incident could have been different.
The women are calling on Durango Parks and Recreation to release a public statement disclosing the events of the incident; install “swim at your own risk” and “no lifeguard on duty” signage in English and Spanish at the far side of the lake; place an accessible AED onsite at both the boat launch side and the swimming beach; install ring buoys at least every 200 feet along the water’s perimeter; and commit to closing the lake for at least 24 hours following incidents like these out of respect for the deceased, their family and the affected community.
The lake remained open throughout the retrieval operation and did not close at any point afterward, the women said.
They returned the next day to bring flowers to honor Granados-Barcenas and to confirm the lack of signage and emergency devices, and said community members were swimming in the same area where the man had drowned less than 24 hours earlier – unbeknownst to them.
“People were playing in the area where someone had died, and they didn’t know,” Simon said. “They were being disrespectful, but they didn’t know they were being disrespectful, because no one had told them what happened.”
City spokesman Tom Sluis, on behalf of the city and Parks and Recreation, said the incident is still being reviewed.
“It’s always a tragic situation when this happens, so we are reviewing our safety protocols to ensure we help provide a safe environment to the public,” he said.
The city did not immediately respond Tuesday to specific questions about the lack of safety signs and equipment near the swimming area where the incident occurred.
The three men with Granados-Barcenas did not speak English, Parrott said, and Axis Health System CORE team members told witnesses they were using an “app” to communicate. Parrott said she requested authorities seek a Spanish interpreter to better communicate with the men during a traumatic moment. She also offered to interpret English to Spanish herself, as someone who speaks Spanish, but said authorities declined.
Durango Police Department spokesperson Amanda Garrison said police reports and body camera footage from the incident indicate that Durango Police Department officers used LanguageLine to communicate with the men, a virtual service widely used by law enforcement that connects officers with a live interpreter.
Simon, Parrott, Castelaz and Smith said they felt the situation was not treated with adequate respect and urgency by authorities and the Parks and Recreation Department.
Garrison said officers responding to critical incidents are tasked with balancing scene management, investigative responsibilities, emergency response coordination and communication with those involved, and interactions may be “perceived differently depending on the circumstances and emotional stress of the moment.”
“Even so, our officers strive to treat everyone involved in traumatic incidents with professionalism, care and respect while carrying out their responsibilities,” she said.
Garrison said officers checked in with the men through the LanguageLine interpreter and expressed empathy for the traumatic experience they had been through.
The women said they chose to speak out to be a voice for the man and his friends, and to advocate for increased safety measures at the lake.
“We want to advocate on (these men’s) behalf, because they deserved a lot better,” Simon said of Granados-Barcenas and his friends.