A man drowned in the South Platte River after an undertow dragged him under the water Sunday morning, police said.
David Loughrey, 46, swam with friends near Union Avenue about 11 a.m. when he jumped in the river near shoots – small waterfalls that slow the river’s flow – that yanked him under for 2 to 4 minutes, said Sgt. Gary Firko, a spokesman with the Sheridan Police Department.
Passersby pulled him from the water and authorities administered CPR before rushing him to Swedish Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about noon Sunday.
Authorities suspect the Sheridan man was drinking and didn’t have a life jacket on, Firko said.
Police used the accident to warn swimmers of the area’s dangerous conditions – there have been at least two other drowning deaths there in the last few years, Firko said.
“Swim with friends and wear safety equipment,” he said.
A man last year drowned in the area after he leapt into the water to save his struggling kids.
“They made it,” Firko recalled. “He didn’t.”
Staff writer Vimal Patel can be reached at 303-954-1638 or at vpatel@denverpost.com.
