17-year-old and his uncle drown in Alabama pond after jumping in to save dog, cops say
A teen and his uncle drowned in an Alabama pond after each tried to rescue the other, authorities said.
17-year-old Gabriel Alonzo chased a dog into the pond in the afternoon of June 4, Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Brian Covington told WAFF.
Alonzo was struggling in the water, so his uncle, 36-year-old Julio Chich Alvarez, went into the water to help him, officials told WAFF.
Alvarez reached his nephew and pulled him to the bank of the pond, Covington told Decatur Daily, but then went under the surface and did not come up.
Alonzo went back into the water after his uncle, Covington told WHNT, and also did not resurface.
Another nephew of Alvarez, 15, tried to go into the water after them, WAFF reported, but was pulled back by family members.
The teen then drove a truck into the pond to try to reach his cousin and uncle but was unsuccessful, Covington told Decatur Daily.
The Morgan County Rescue Squad was called to the pond around 4:30 p.m. and divers went into the water, according to June 4 Facebook post.
“MCRS provided two divers and recovered a 17-year-old male teenager and a 36-year-old adult male from a private pond on CR-222 in Lawrence County,” the rescue squad said.
They were pronounced dead at the scene and were later identified by Lawrence County Coroner Scott Norwood, WAFF reported.
Alonzo and Alvarez were in Hillsboro, about 90 miles north of Birmingham.
This story was originally published June 5, 2023 at 11:53 AM with the headline "17-year-old and his uncle drown in Alabama pond after jumping in to save dog, cops say."
