Staff
Former Fort Frances residents Jon and Aynsley Carrier were vacationing with friends in Missouri, and were present at an incident where a young brother and sister were electrocuted in the lake earlier this month.
Alexandra Anderson, 13, and Brayden Anderson, eight, both of Ashland, Mo., died as a result.
In an article from the Columbia Missourian, Troop F Sgt. Paul Reinsch of the Missouri State Highway Patrol indicated the dock near where the children were swimming was not “ground fault protected,” meaning there was no barrier between the electricity in the wire and the water.
He noted the shock could have come from a number of sources, including underwater wiring for pumps and lighting.
Aynsley Carrier also suffered an electrical shock when she jumped in to assist the children, and had to be pulled out.
Once the siblings were removed from the water, adults tried to resuscitate them by performing CPR before emergency medical services arrived.
Both children were pronounced dead after being transported to the Lake Regional Hospital in Osage Beach.
The Carrier’s children, Duncan and Daphne, had come out of the water mere minutes before the mishap.
“This is an alert for local folks to check and double-check electricals at their cottages especially around water areas . . . and perhaps to make sure all family know how and where to ‘cut the power’ in an emergency situation,” said a Fort Frances resident.
“This family has lost two of their three children—a horror that none of us wants to see happen again,” she added.
However, several similar incidents recently have been reported in the U.S.
The funeral for the Anderson siblings was held in Columbia, Mo. on July 10.
