Post by jonsdigs on Jul 3, 2007 13:18:40 GMT -5
Wakulla Springs Park manager: Drownings unusual at Cherokee Sink
By Nic Corbett
TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT WRITER
6/30/07
Prior to this week's incident, there had not been a drowning or near-drowning at Cherokee Sink since at least 1999, which is as far back as the records go, said Sandy Cook, park manager for Wakulla Springs State Park.
"It is a popular destination," Cook said. "People like to go out and swim and recreate and have a good time."
The sink is not conducive to toddlers who can't swim because there's no shallow place for them to wade, but it still attracts both families and young people, she said.
Cal Jamison, the springs ambassador for Wakulla Springs who surveys sinkholes in Wakulla and Leon counties, said about 150 people came out to Cherokee Sink last weekend. Jamison has surveyed 479 sinkholes in the two counties. There are more than 24 sinkholes at the park, some of which are recreational attractions.
"Cherokee Sink has been a local swimming hole for a long time, probably a hundred years," he said.
Savannah Mariel Smith, 20, of White City, drowned Monday afternoon while swimming in the sink with her fiance and friends from Leon County, according to a Wakulla County Sheriff's Office report. Friends on the lime-rock shore said they saw Smith dive into the sink, but she never resurfaced.
WCSO said that she could have been confused after diving into the sink, but Jamison said he doesn't see how she could have become disoriented.
"From my personal experience, I don't see how you could dive in and get disoriented and not know where the surface is," he said.
It wouldn't be likely she hit her head on the rocks either, he said, because "the only rocks are there on the edge that she would've had to jump from to get in."
Full Story
By Nic Corbett
TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT WRITER
6/30/07
Prior to this week's incident, there had not been a drowning or near-drowning at Cherokee Sink since at least 1999, which is as far back as the records go, said Sandy Cook, park manager for Wakulla Springs State Park.
"It is a popular destination," Cook said. "People like to go out and swim and recreate and have a good time."
The sink is not conducive to toddlers who can't swim because there's no shallow place for them to wade, but it still attracts both families and young people, she said.
Cal Jamison, the springs ambassador for Wakulla Springs who surveys sinkholes in Wakulla and Leon counties, said about 150 people came out to Cherokee Sink last weekend. Jamison has surveyed 479 sinkholes in the two counties. There are more than 24 sinkholes at the park, some of which are recreational attractions.
"Cherokee Sink has been a local swimming hole for a long time, probably a hundred years," he said.
Savannah Mariel Smith, 20, of White City, drowned Monday afternoon while swimming in the sink with her fiance and friends from Leon County, according to a Wakulla County Sheriff's Office report. Friends on the lime-rock shore said they saw Smith dive into the sink, but she never resurfaced.
WCSO said that she could have been confused after diving into the sink, but Jamison said he doesn't see how she could have become disoriented.
"From my personal experience, I don't see how you could dive in and get disoriented and not know where the surface is," he said.
It wouldn't be likely she hit her head on the rocks either, he said, because "the only rocks are there on the edge that she would've had to jump from to get in."
Full Story