Make wishtv.com your home page

Neighbor recounts details of death at Geist Reservoir

Neighbor recounts details of death at Geist Reservoir

Travis Robinson | News 8

FISHERS, Ind. (WISH) — A man died early Saturday morning in what Fishers Fire Department called a tragic incident at Geist Reservoir.

The waters were calm around Geist Reservoir until just before midnight, when Sam Edgar saw a woman run up to his door with a flashlight saying something had happened to the man she was with.

“He went to pull up an anchor and she heard him fall and go in the water and that’s the last she heard of him,” Edgar said.

Edgar said they went searching for a couple of minutes trying to find the man around a pontoon, but there wasn’t any sign of him.

“I was just really worried,” Edgar said. “I was just kind of mad at myself. I was looking for him. I couldn’t find him. It was just so deep there, I couldn’t … I couldn’t see. It was dark, it was murky, it was just freaking me out. I didn’t know what to do. I was just thinking that this guy is not going to make it if we don’t find him soon.”

Edgar says officers told him someone could become brain-dead in that water after only four minutes.

Fishers Fire Department says they were able to get to the water in just four minutes and the man was out of the water three minutes later.

But by then, it was too late. The department says the man died at a hospital.

Edgar says he wishes he could have acted faster and hopes others who have to see a situation like this don’t hesitate because just one second can make a difference.

“Reminds me to be extra careful and how things can change so fast,” Edgar said. “Don’t really take things for granted. The past 12 hours have had me really kind of rethinking a lot of things about my life. Just thinking what more things I can do right.”

Authorities on Saturday night had not identified the man who died.

Related: Male victim dies in ‘tragic incident’ at Geist Reservoir