MINERAL CITY ‒ A 4-year-old Amish boy and his father were found dead in Atwood Lake, and the mother has been hospitalized after she was accused of intentionally crashing a golf cart into the water at the lake's Marina West with three other children aboard.
She is also accused of throwing the 4-year-old into the water in a separate incident.
The boy's body was recovered at 6 p.m. Aug. 23 at the bottom of the lake near a dock in the area known as "the causeway," Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell said in a prepared statement.
The 45-year-old father's body was pulled from the lake in the same area at 8:30 a.m. Aug. 24 following a search that involved sonar.
"There's no gunshot wounds or anything like that," Campbell said. He said the deceased man had gone swimming alone at around 5:30 a.m. Aug. 23, heading from the family's boat to a sandbar.
Sheriff: Parents believed they were acting on God's orders
He said the man and woman believed they were acting on orders from God that were meant to test their faith.
Campbell said that the mother, at around 8 a.m. Aug. 23, made the 4-year-old leave the family's camper and get into a golf cart.
"She takes off like crazy and throws him in the water," Campbell said. "And she believes that that's what she's supposed to do. She then drives back, gets her daughter, drives her and throws her in the water. Now, the daughter's 15. She then drives back and gets her 18-year-old (twin) boys and makes them get in the water. They all survive. They passed the test.
"She makes them get back in the cart. They stop at a couple areas. They pray. She tells them about heaven and that you need to pray for your brother and dad. I mean, it's bizarre."
In a news release on Aug. 24, Campbell said his detectives would "spend the rest of the day executing a search warrant to look for more clues to piece this unusual tragedy together." He said the family's camper was among the areas to be searched.
Authorities called after woman drives golf cart into water with teen children aboard
The investigation began after deputies and Atwood rangers responded to a report of a woman driving a golf cart into the water at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 23 at Atwood Marina West. The cart drove down the grassy hill from the Lighthouse Bistro, over a sidewalk and rocks before entering the water near the boat rental shack.
"After helping the woman out of the water, the woman made concerning statements about conversing with God," Campbell said in a news release.
She told the people who helped her get out of the water that she had to get her son to God, Campbell said.
Campbell said the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District asked the Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office to lead the investigation.
The family lives in Holmes County and was visiting the lake for the weekend, authorities said. Atwood Lake is a popular recreational area for boating, fishing and swimming.
Campbell said authorities became concerned for the safety of the 4-year-old son and the woman's husband after conversations with the woman and children.
"It became evident after piecing together numerous statements from the woman, the children and other witnesses ... that foul play was suspected," Campbell said.
The sheriff said "the mother has been hospitalized for some mental health concerns."
The teenage children were released to other family.
Authorities haven't released the names of the 4-year-old or the father, pending the identification of their bodies and notification of family.
An eyewitness saw golf cart enter the water
Yvonne Reese of Waynesburg witnessed the incident at the marina while she was waiting for her friends at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 23.
"I saw a golf cart flying down the hill in front of the Lighthouse Bistro," she wrote in a Facebook post. "I heard yelling and commotion. Couldn’t make out what they were saying.
"Next thing I saw was the golf cart flying down ... the rock wall and splashing water. People started running towards them."
She saw the three teens sitting on a bench wearing a blanket. A ranger was with another person. She saw boats with sonars, police, rangers, police dogs, ambulances and many boats in the water.
"This is surreal," Reese wrote. "That's the only word I can use surreal."
Boaters find situation tragic
"It's so just tragic, just tragic," she said when contacted on Aug. 24.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with everybody," said Erica Andrews of New Philadelphia, after boarding a boat on the afternoon of Aug. 24 near the scene of the golf cart incident.
Daphne Diss said that after hearing about the search on Aug. 23, she and husband Derek kept hoping that the report of people being lost in the water was false.
The Canton Township couple arrived at Atwood Lake Marina West after the golf cart had gone into the water.
"We didn't even go out sailing because we ... thought, 'What if we throw our anchor out and pull up a body?'" Derek said. "There wasn't a boat put in yesterday because this was all full of EMS, firetrucks. Airplane flew around for ... 45 minutes, just around in a circle."
"We didn't want to hinder anything that was going on there," Daphne said on Aug. 24. "It was just so uneasy all day. We were just all uneasy watching it. We were just so sad to hear about the little boy."
Campbell said authorities plan to hold a news conference at 2 p.m. Aug. 25 to provide additional details.
Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Repository: 4-year-old Amish boy found dead in Atwood Lake drowning
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