CPW recovers child drowning victim from Cherry Creek Reservoir
Kara Van Hoose
June 6, 2026
Colorado Parks and Wildlife recovers child drowning victim from Cherry Creek Reservoir
AURORA —- The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Marine Evidence Recovery Team (MERT) recovered a child drowning victim from the Cherry Creek Reservoir swim beach area Saturday evening. Witnesses told CPW two children were on a float recreating near the Cherry Creek State Park swim beach around 4 p.m. One child left the float in shallow water and walked back to shore. The other child continued floating into deeper water on the reservoir. At 4:25 p.m., witnesses saw the child go under the water. A CPW seasonal park ranger and other park visitors jumped into the reservoir to attempt a rescue. South Metro Fire Rescue’s dive team was conducting water rescue training in another part of the park, quickly responded to the scene. Within five minutes, divers were searching near the swim beach. The West Metro Fire dive team and Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office also assisted in the response. The victim was recovered by CPW MERT at 10:20 p.m. Neither child on the float was wearing a life jacket.
The Arapahoe County Coroner will be the point of contact for the identity and age of the child.
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 43 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.
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