KeVaughn Montgomery died while attempting to save a boy from drowning, Sutton, West Virginia, July 15, 2024. The boy, 8, descended a recreational slide on a double-decker pontoon boat into Sutton Lake and struggled to stay afloat as one of the hooks on his life jacket had unlatched and the jacket started to loosen from his body. His father, Montgomery, 25, construction worker, saw the boy panicking in the water, jumped from the boat, landing in the lake about 10 feet from the boy. Montgomery swam to him, grasped him under his arms, and held him above the water’s surface. The boy panicked and repeatedly submerged Montgomery as he held the boy above the surface. Montgomery pushed the boy a few feet toward the boat, then submerged and did not resurface. Others in the party, donning life jackets, entered the water after Montgomery and brought the boy back onto the boat to safety. The boy was not injured. A search was initiated for Montgomery, who was not found until divers recovered his body the following day. He had drowned.
2024-0000277-10518KeVaughn Montgomery
Charleston, WV