Mary Jane Delpin |
| Posted 2013-01-22 by Pat Wilson |
| Two people who drowned near Yarrow Point were identified Thursday, July 27, 2006 by the King County Medical Examiner's Office. They are Spencer Frenette, 34, and Mary Jane Delpin, 37, according to the medical examiner. The Bellevue Fire Department, one of several agencies responding to the incident about 6 p.m. Wednesday, reported Frenette was from West Seattle and Delpin was from Seattle. Frenette was a member of a family that operates a Bellevue window-and-blind company, which was closed Thursday to allow the family to make funeral arrangements. The drownings took place when three people, Frenette, Delpin and an 18-year-old Hunts Point resident, were returning to shore to meet a friend to help them with boat repairs, the Fire Department reported. The three were in a 1988 19-foot, bowrider-style boat commonly used for water-skiing. On the way to shore, the three decided to jump in the water. They were swimming without life jackets when the boat began drifting away in brisk winds. According to the Fire Department, Delpin became anxious and was having trouble staying afloat. Frenette tried to help as Delpin began to panic. The 18-year-old swam back to the boat and tried to throw life jackets to the others, but the wind was so strong it blew the boat and the life jackets away from them, said Lt. Bruce Kroon, department community-liaison officer. Delpin and Frenette then disappeared under the surface, Kroon said. A homeowner in the 4600 block of 92nd Avenue Northeast heard a cry for help and called 911. More than 20 rescuers from Bellevue responded and were joined by King County and Mercer Island dive teams, Seattle police harbor boats and a Guardian One helicopter. The bodies were recovered more than four hours later as rescuers searched an area about 1,000 feet long and 200 feet wide off the northwest shore of Yarrow Point in the Cozy Cove area, a small bay on Lake Washington between Yarrow Point and Hunts Point. Kroon said the tragedy could have been prevented had life jackets been worn. The deaths brought the number of drownings in King County to 21 this year, more than were recorded in all of 2005, according to Public Health; Seattle & King County. The Seattle Times July 28, 2006 |
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