In light of a drowning at White Rock Park and another in Owen County on Memorial Day, officials with the Department of Natural Resources are begging Hoosiers to be careful in the water this summer.
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DNR officials are stressing that we should all be wearing life jackets around bodies of water, whether you’re on a boat or heading into a small pond on foot.
Both of the Memorial Day deaths in Indiana are under investigation. DNR officials call it a bad start to the year.
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One DNR officer points out the stark difference between swimming in a pool and swimming in a natural body of water.
“(Jumping into a natural body of water) has some inherent dangers,” Conservation officer Angela Goldman said. “You can't see the bottom. If you're going to swim in a river or a stream, you've got current, you've got underwater debris, you've got drop offs.”
Statewide, the DNR investigated 59 drownings in 2014, 42 in 2015, and now 14 so far this year and it’s barely even summer.
The DNR’s message is to wear a life jacket and remember: Alcohol and swimming should not mix.
Watch our video in the player above for more.
