A man died in a Utah reservoir on Saturday night after trying to help a 12-year-old girl as she drifted farther from shore on an inflatable tube, authorities said.
Daniel Braga Figueiredo, 31, borrowed a paddleboard and entered Silver Lake Flat Reservoir around 7 p.m. local time, according to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office. Figueiredo was related to the girl, a spokesperson for the office said in a news release.
When he reached her, people watched Figueiredo and the girl struggle to relocate her from the tube onto his paddleboard before the two fell into the reservoir. The sheriff’s spokesperson said witnesses entered the water, too, at that point, in hopes of helping them.
Figueiredo was last seen lifting the girl out of the water and onto an inflatable device, the spokesperson said. He then disappeared beneath the surface.
Witnesses called 911 after the man vanished. Rescuers from several agencies subsequently responded to the scene and proceeded to search for Figueiredo, whose body was found and recovered from the reservoir at about 9:30 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office.
“We would like to again offer our condolences to the family,” the sheriff’s spokesperson said in a statement.
Silver Lake Flat Reservoir is located in American Fork Canyon, inside the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest about 40 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. People who visit often participate in outdoor activities like kayaking, fishing, camping and hiking on surrounding trails, according to the U.S. Forest Service, which manages the reservoir.
