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 A mother's attempt to rescue her 5-year-old son from the frigid waters of Culver Lake in Sussex County yesterday turned deadly when she disappeared under the water just moments before a neighbor arrived in a rowboat to pull the boy to safety. Divers found the body of Debbie Snook, 33, of Frankford Township more than two hours after she leapt from the dock in front of her home into the water to aid her son Dylan, who was tossed from a canoe when it capsized, according to the State Police. "She stayed up long enough to save her son," said neighbor Mary Grace Lattig, who rushed outside after hearing screams coming from the lake at about 12:40 p.m. "It's so cold, the ice just left the shore a couple days ago." Snook kept Dylan afloat until her neighbor, Mario Spagnola, was able to reach the boy with his rowboat. Snook's son and her husband, Chris, 34, had been fishing from the dock of their East Shore Drive house when a lure became snagged, police said. Chris Snook and Dylan paddled out in a canoe in an attempt to free the lure when the boat capsized, tossing both of them into the cold lake, according to police. Chris Snook helped Dylan onto the top of the overturned canoe and attempted to push it to shore, police said. Dylan lost his grip on the canoe and began to float away, police said. Debbie Snook dove into the water to save her son while her husband swam ashore, police said. Chris Snook was not injured. Mario Spagnola said his wife, Judy, spotted the unmanned canoe floating away and heard cries for help. Spagnola jumped in his rowboat and headed out about 150 feet into the lake to help Snook and her son. "I rowed as fast as I could," Spagnola said last night. "The currents and the wind were just pushing me away." Spagnola had to abandon his first attempt to bring Snook and Dylan aboard the boat because he started to drift away when he stopped rowing to offer them a hand. By the time he turned around for a second pass, only Dylan was still above the water, though he was now unconscious. "I said 'grab this oar' and there was no response," Spagnola said. "I reached in and grabbed the little boy by his fingertips, literally. I swiped him right out of the water." Dylan wasn't breathing and hypothermia had started to set in, Spagnola said. "He was unconscious when I dragged him out," Spagnola said. "His lips were purple." Spagnola placed Dylan on the center bench of the rowboat and began to give him mouth-to-mouth, occasionally stopping to press on his chest. "He started coughing and throwing up," Spagnola said. "Then I saw bubbles and breaths coming out of his lips. On the way back to shore, the little boy started to cry. That was the sweetest sound because I knew he was going to be okay." Spagnola handed the boy off to rescue workers that had arrived at the shore and took his rowboat back out on the lake to look for Snook. But she never returned to the surface of the 555-acre lake and Spagnola was unable to find her. Dylan was taken to Newton Memorial Hospital suffering from hypothermia and was later transferred to Morristown Memorial Hospital. The boy was in stable condition last night and is expected to be fine, police said. More than a dozen boats were called to assist in the search. A dive team from Port Jervis, N.Y., recovered the body. "I just feel so bad for the woman," said Spagnola, who didn't know the Snooks before yesterday. "She just disappeared. It's eating me up. Just a few more minutes -- we didn't move fast enough." Both of Chris and Debbie Snook's families are from Sussex County. Visitors filled the family's home last night to mourn Debbie Snook's death and to console her husband, according to the Rev. Peter Filipkowski, pastor of St. Joseph's Church in Newton. Debbie Snook's parents, Doug and Kathleen Modrow, attend St. Joseph's Church. Filipkowski went to the Snook house last night to bless the body. "There was a lot of friends," Filipkowski said. "It's very sad." Lifesaving Resources Inc. - www.lifesaving.com - 603/563-8330 |
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