June 15, 2006

Two Almaden Valley families devastated by drowning deaths

5-year-old drowns in backyard pool; new father drowns while fishing

By Lorraine Gabbert
Staff Writer

A 5-year-old boy drowned in an Almaden Valley swimming pool on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 7. The same day, a new father also drowned in a fishing accident at San Luis Reservoir.

The young boy and his mother were visiting friends who live on Pippen Creek Court. Two children, ages 5 and 8 were in the pool with the boy, according to San Jose Police department spokeswoman Gina Te-poorten, when they noticed their friend floating face down in the shallow end of the pool. The boy’s mother and another woman pulled the child out of the pool and attempted CPR until emergency vehicles arrived on the scene.

The boy was taken by ambulance to Kaiser Santa Teresa Hospital and later transferred to Valley Medical Center where he died at midnight. Police are not releasing the name of the boy, but his drowning appears to be accidental.

In a separate tragedy, Almaden Valley resident Mark An-drew Har-rup II, 29, was lost after his boat capsized at San Luis Reservoir, near Pacheco Pass. Both Mark and his wife, Lisa, have ties with Almaden Valley. Lisa Dardis-Harrup, who was raised in the area, attended Leland High School and Mark worked with students in the Leland athletic department as Junior Varsity Golf Coach. “He was an outstanding young man and touched a lot of lives here,” says Athletic Director Chris Hansen. “He will be missed very much.”

Harrup also worked as a sales representative at San Jose Fly Shop in Los Gatos.

Longtime friend of the family, Melissa Ojeda, has spent several mornings at the site of the accident, reviewing the turn of events, which ended Harrup’s life last Wednesday. Ojeda learned this tragic story first-hand from the other man in the boat, Jeff Ketelson, who survived the incident.

The two friends had initially gone fishing in the safer, less windy section of the lake. But thinking the wind had died down, they decided to try their favorite fishing spot, about 1,000 feet from the face of the dam. With the excitement of hooking a few stripers, at first, neither noticed the boat taking on water or that they were drifting closer to the dam. As the puddle grew larger, they attempted to operate the bilge pump and start the motor, to no avail. After a few minutes, the motor came to life, but with so much water weighing it down, the engine was riding low and soon failed altogether.

It wasn’t long before the boat capsized tossing the two men into the face of four-foot waves. They grabbed at the boat’s hull, hanging on for dear life, until it sunk beneath the waves. As the sun set they grasped at small pieces of debris, struggling to stay afloat. When Ketelson saw Harrup flounder, he pushed a piece of wood his way before swimming after the fuel can, which had started floating away. They lost sight of each other after that. In the end, Ketelson says he reached a cable near the trash racks, where he hung on for the next three hours before being rescued just before midnight. Harrup wasn’t so lucky.

Ojeda, like the San Luis Reservoir State Recreation Area Park Rangers, believes that this catastrophe occurred due to a series of unfortunate events. For instance, Harrup’s boat, a 15 ½’ Cobia, was not a “floatable,” and although they brought along life jackets, they were not wearing them. “Although they look funny and can be uncomfortable at times,” says Ojeda, “life jackets can make the difference. When you go out in your boat, pontoon, float tube, or even a dangerous stream, remember this story. I have made it my personal pilgrimage to make sure more people wear their life jackets.”

As Harrup has been missing for a week, he is presumed dead. At this time, searchers are attempting to recover his body. Park rangers have had dog teams out, as well as land units and patrols on the lake. They are
joined by a team from the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Department, who are employing a sonar device and underwater camera on the bottom of the reservoir to locate the body. The California Highway Patrol has also searched the area on the ground, as well as by helicopter. Due to strong winds, the search has been somewhat hampered, but continues.

Because the day-use reservoir closes at sunset, park rangers check the boat docks for trailers, making sure the boats are cleared from the large lake. With 65 miles of shoreline, this can take some time. That night, they were searching the water by boat when they were alerted by security that someone was calling for help by the intake structure.

Satellite Supervising Ranger Lee Sencendaugh and Ranger Martin rescued Ketelson, who was holding onto a buoy by the dam’s intake structure. As he had been in the water for many hours, he was examined by medical personnel at the dock. “We were surprised to find him where he was with no boat around,” says Sencendaugh, “as well as relieved.”

Riding their Boston Whaler into the wind, the rangers pulled Ketelson off the buoy into their patrol boat before treating him for possible hypothermia. The winds at this time were 18-25 mph. When boating on a lake like the San Luis Reservoir, Sencendaugh recommends having a boat that can handle the wind, using personal floatation devices like life jackets, carrying a signaling device like flares, and a cell phone, as well as informing family members where you are going and when you’ll be back.

This type of tragedy is not unknown at San Luis Reservoir, which averages two deaths a year due to intense wind conditions and visitors’ poor judgment. “People have boats which won’t take the wind or they don’t use their life jackets,” says Sencendaugh. “They should also note lights warning people of wind conditions.” Amber lights warn people of winds of more than 15 mph and red lights signal winds above 30 mph, warning people to get off the lake. The amber lights had been on throughout that fateful day.

Just two weeks before, an overloaded boat capsized at San Luis Reservoir, throwing eight people into the water. Fortunately they were all wearing life jackets, and all eight were rescued. “Life jackets save lives,” says Sencendaugh.

A memorial service was held on June 13 in Los Altos.

"Mark was a great guy," says Ojeda. "Everyone was his friend. You could meet him and speak with him for five minutes, and you truly knew he'd be your friend for life. He had a ready smile and a great laugh. He was also a great storyteller. It's just a tragedy."

Ojeda said there was nothing Harrup wouldn't do for his wife and child. "They were the two most important people in his life," she says. "Even with the short time he spent with Tre, he showed what a great father he was. It's really sad."

Due to the tragic loss of Mark Andrew Harrup II on June 7, the Harrup Family Fund has been created to provide financial assistance to his wife, Lisa Dardis-Harrup, as well as a College Fund for their 4-month-old son, Mark Andrew Harrup III (Tre).  To donate, send checks made payable to Lisa Harrup to: The Harrup Family Fund at 1740 University Way, San Jose, CA 95126, or contact Fund Administrator John Kunde online at john.kunde@fusonet.com or at (408) 690-9137. On Saturday, June 17, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., a benefit dinner will be held at the Smoke Tiki Lounge, 152 Post Street, downtown San Jose. The admission cost is $30, which will go towards the Harrup Family Fund.