POWELL, Ohio — What started as a relaxed fishing trip on a pleasant Sunday afternoon ended in tragedy when five adults lost their lives in an Ohio river. Among those who drowned were two Honduran married couples and a friend, all of whom had set out to enjoy the water with children in tow.
Jose Mario Pineda Dias, 33, and his 28-year-old wife, Marina Suyapa Regalado, brought their two children along for the outing on the Scioto River. A second Honduran couple and another adult joined them. A photograph captured by a passing boater shows the group standing roughly thigh-deep in the water, fishing poles in hand, gathered around a large log. Despite the calm appearance of the surface, data from the U.S. Geological Survey showed the river was running high and at a fast pace.
Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer said one of the adults began struggling in the water, prompting the others to jump in to help. All five were pulled under by the current. The two women’s bodies were recovered Sunday, while the three men were found the following day.
On Tuesday, Honduran officials confirmed that four of the five victims were Honduran citizens — Dias and Regalado along with the second couple, whose names have not yet been released. The identity of the fifth adult also remains unknown.
Flabia Zamora, who serves as director of consular affairs at the Honduran Foreign Ministry, told reporters Tuesday that her government is coordinating with U.S. authorities to return the victims’ remains to Honduras. She noted the repatriation process could take at least a month once all victims have been formally identified. Zamora also said the couple’s children are currently in the care of the state of Ohio, and that steps will be taken to reunite them with family members in Honduras.
One of the children, a young boy wearing only a towel, fled the riverbank in a panic as the adults were drowning. A driver who called 911 described the terrifying scene: “He was screaming, ‘Mama! Mama!’ and he was about to come out onto the road, and he was crying.” The caller said she feared the child was heading toward a busy multilane road running along the eastern side of the Scioto River.
A woman named Brenda Raya, who identified herself as a relative of the victims, has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help cover funeral costs, transportation expenses, and childcare for the two children left behind — ages 8 and 10. “The emotional and financial burden is overwhelming, and we want to honor the memory of our loved ones while providing for the children left behind,” she wrote in the campaign description.
The drownings took place along the O’Shaughnessy Reservoir, an 18-mile (29-kilometer) stretch of shoreline that belongs to the city of Columbus. According to the city’s Recreation and Parks Department, activities such as swimming, tubing, and Jet Skiing are prohibited in Columbus city reservoirs.
Lt. Heather Byers of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources cautioned that rivers can be far more dangerous than they appear. “Even though the water doesn’t seem to be moving very quickly, you can still get swept away in very slow-moving water,” she said. “Also, since you can’t always see the bottom, you never know if you’re in, you know, you could be in 2 to 3 feet of water, what you’re comfortable standing in, and then the next thing you know you’re at 4 or 5 feet.”
Officials also noted that hidden hazards beneath the surface — including rocks that can trap a foot, submerged branches that can snag clothing, and slippery algae — add to the dangers even in seemingly calm water.
