By Janese Silvey
Columbia Daily Tribune
ASHLAND — A brother and sister from Ashland died yesterday after being electrocuted while swimming off the family’s dock at the Lake of the Ozarks.
Alexandra Anderson, 13, and Brayden Anderson, 8, were the children of Brian and Angela Anderson.
The children were swimming at about noon near the private dock at the 6.5-mile marker in the Gravois Arm when faulty wiring from the dock sent electricity into the water, said Sgt. Paul Reinsch of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Adults went into the water to get the children and reported that they also could feel the electricity, Reinsch said. They were able to get the boy and girl out of the water and start CPR until emergency crews arrived, but the two were pronounced dead at Lake Regional Hospital in Osage Beach. Autopsies were scheduled for today.
An investigation is under way. As of this morning, Reinsch did not know what electric company was serving that area. He also said he does not think there were any code violations because Morgan County does not have wiring inspection authority.
Alexandra would have been a freshman at Southern Boone County High School, and Brayden was entering third grade, Southern Boone County schools Superintendent Charlotte Miller said. Their brother, Garrett, will be going into sixth grade.
School counselors will be available to talk to the children’s friends and their parents, Miller said.
“It’s hard for other children to understand this and know how to deal with that,” she said. “Any way we can help families and help children communicate about this, that’s what we want to do.”
As of this morning, she said she had been in contact with the school counselors and hoped to know later today when and where those counselors will be stationed around the community.
Miller called the children “precious kids, great students.”
“Our hearts and prayers definitely go out to the Anderson family,” she said.
Several years ago, Angela Anderson’s concerns about her children’s safety led to a new Boone County rule requiring fences around swimming pools. Anderson had complained to county officials that her neighbors’ pool wasn’t properly fenced. At the time, the family lived off Route WW.
In 2005, Anderson testified before the Boone County Commission, saying she could think of few hardships worse than “having to bury your own child,” according to meeting minutes.
Despite the rules, her situation did not immediately change. In 2006, she told the Tribune: “I can’t live with the constant fear that in a split second I could turn my head and one of my children could be injured.”
Reach Janese Silvey at 573-815-1705 or e-mail jsilvey@columbiatribune.com
Copyright 2012 Columbia Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Copyright 2012 ProQuest Information and Learning
All Rights Reserved
ProQuest SuperText
Copyright 2012 The Columbia Daily Tribune