Bodies of 6-year-old boy, father recovered after being swept underwater while fishing in Dallas creek
DALLAS - A family is grieving after a father and young son were killed in a drowning while fishing over the weekend in a Dallas creek.
Dallas Fire-Rescue said the 6-year-old was swept underwater in a creek near Mountain Creek Parkway on Saturday around 1:30 p.m.
6-year-old Noah Carlos fell into the water. His father, Fernando Carlos, jumped in after him. Neither survived.
Saturday was meant to be a day spent fishing with the family, but all that changed in a matter of seconds.
"I was putting the minnows on a hook, and all I heard was a scream," said Jose Carlos, Fernando’s brother and Noah’s uncle.
The scream Jose heard was from Noah, who slipped into the water at Mountain Creek Lake.
Then, there was another splash. The boy’s 26-year-old father jumped in after him.
"Like any father, my brother jumped in there knowing he couldn’t swim," Jose said.
Jose says while he went to grab a rope from the car, another family member jumped in to save the father and son. He was able to get them to the edge of the water when Noah slipped out of his grasp and Fernando went after him.
"In those 30 seconds, my brother was gone," Jose said.
The two never resurfaced.
Dallas-Fire Rescue found Fernando’s body on Saturday night. Noah’s body was found near Grand Prairie on Sunday afternoon.
"I would trade places with him," Jose said. "I miss him so much."
Family and friends have stopped by Jose's apartment where there is a small memorial set up.
"We just want the world to know that my brother had a life. My brother was a good man," Jose said. "Noah was a great child. He was innocent. 6 years old. He hadn’t even seen the world yet. He doesn’t know what wrong is."
Father dead, son still missing after being swept underwater in Dallas creek
Dallas Fire-Rescue says a child was swept underwater while fishing in the creek. The boy's father jumped in after the child and was also swept under.
The two weren’t wearing life jackets at the time.
Jose can’t help but think about all of the what ifs.
"That’s something I feel so bad about. I told them, I told all three of them, ‘Stay away from the water. Accidents like this happen, but we should have been more prepared," Jose said. "Make sure that you’re prepared. Because we weren’t prepared. Because of our inefficiencies, this happened."
Six Dallas-Fire Rescue crews along with Dallas police responded to the call on Saturday.
Fernando leaves behind two daughters, ages 5 and 9.
The family says they feel peace knowing that the father and son are together now.