Boy found 3 days after going missing while swimming in Toledo

THE body of 14-year-old boy who had gone missing while swimming with four friends at Damon Lake in Purok 2, Barangay Luray, Toledo, on Saturday morning, September 21, 2024, has already been found around 5 a.m. on Tuesday, September 24.

Randy Pedroza, of F. Rabaya Street, Sitio Kimba, Barangay Cansojong, Talisay City, was floating in the said lake when found by the rescue personnel, composed of scuba divers from the Philippine Coast Guard in Toledo City, along with the members of the Bureau of Fire Protection, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the Philippine National Police.

In an earlier interview with SunStar Cebu, Staff Sergeant Mark Anthony Salvacion, the case investigator from Police Community Precinct 1, based in Lutopan, Toledo, said they received a call shortly after 10 a.m., notifying them about the missing boy.

It was reported that the victim and his four companions were swimming in the area, riding on a bamboo raft.

However, the four were shocked when Randy fell. They tried to pull him up, but they were unable to do so because they felt like something was pulling Randy down.

Salvacion revealed that the lake had not been utilized for swimming recently due to its depth and that several people had drowned there in the past. (DVG, TPT)