Lake Pleasant drowning over the weekend marks Maricopa County's 13th lake, river death of the year

MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. - A swimmer's body was recovered from Lake Pleasant hours after he drowned on Sunday, marking the 13th drowning in a Maricopa County lake or river this year.

Many Arizonans want to enjoy the lake when it's hot out, but there are a few reminders you need to know before getting in the water.

First and foremost, you always want to have a life jacket with you.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says since 2000, there have been over 300 drownings in lakes and rivers in the county. They're referring to the Salt River, Lake Pleasant, as well as Bartlett, Apache, Canyon and Saguaro lakes.

Out of those 300 drownings, only one person was wearing a life jacket.

The most recent drowning was on Sept. 15 at Lake Pleasant.

Twenty-five-year-old Byron Garcia-Perez was swimming about 100 feet from the shoreline near the Ten Lane Boat Ramp. Witnesses saw him struggling, and then going underwater.

His body was found just before midnight in about 9 feet of water. The sheriff's office did not say if he had a life jacket with him.

"They have to remember they're out in the sun, so make sure they have plenty of water, a charged cell phone, regardless of if they're on a boat or on the shore. PFDs are huge personal flotation devices, life jackets a lot of people call them. They need to know where they're at and have a good idea where they're at, so if they do have an emergency, that way they can give us as good information as they can give, so we can find them as fast as possible," said Peoria Fire-Medical Capt. Aaron Greathouse.

'You do need your life jacket'

When you come to the lake, you bring a lot of items, which is why there is a marina store on both sides of the lake that sells life jackets. They also offer loaners at the marina.

"The water is dangerous regardless of how strong of a swimmer you are," Capt. Greathouse warned.

The Jenkins family takes their boat on the water often and have helped a handful of people who were not wearing life jackets.

"You have to have plenty of life jackets for everyone on board, plus additional. We even have life jackets for our dogs," John Jenkins said.

He says he's helped people in different situations.

"People broke down, people stranded, today's extremely windy, people on paddleboards swept away by the wind and can't make it back," he said.

As Capt. Greathouse said, being a good swimmer won't save you in some situations. 

"I think everybody should learn how to swim. That's not going to help you in the wind and the waves. You do need your life jacket," Christina Jenkins said.

With drownings being preventable, one death is too many.

"For years, it seemed like we were having, you know, maybe one or two a week, especially the beginning of the season," Capt. Greathouse said. "This year, it seems like, I haven't seen the numbers, but it feels like we haven't seen as many as we have in the past. But still we're still seeing them, so there's still too many."