Teen drowns trying to swim across Utah reservoir

HERRIMAN, Utah (AP) - A man has drowned while trying to swim across a chilly reservoir just south of Salt Lake City.

Unified police have identified the victim as 19-year-old Joey Pantoja.

Authorities say Pantoja was swimming with a friend near the middle of Blackridge Reservoir in Herriman about 6 p.m. Sunday when he became distressed and went under the water.

A friend tried to help but couldn’t pull him above the surface.

KSL-TV (https://tinyurl.com/m2er6de) reports about a dozen people on the shore heard calls for help and jumped into the water to try to assist in a rescue but couldn’t find the victim.

Police say it took rescue teams about 40 minutes before they could recover Pantoja’s body. The water was an estimated 30 degrees.

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Information from: KSL-TV, https://www.ksl.com/