Brief by Central Staff
Outdoor Recreation – May 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine
We often read about heroes these days in various contexts — and here’s one close to home at Spinney Mountain Reservoir in South Park.
The reservoir opened for fishing on April 3, a few days after authorities recovered the body of a drowning victim who gave up his life jacket so that his companions could live.
According to the state Parks Department three people were in a boat at the reservoir on Oct. 24, 2003, when it began taking on water and suddenly sank.
One of the passengers was James Henle, a 44-year-old Woodland Park resident, who “threw a life jacket to one passenger, and attempted to throw a floating seat cushion to the other, but the wind blew the cushion out of reach from the second passenger. Henle apparently could not locate another life jacket, took off the one he was wearing and gave it to the second passenger. The two passengers were able to make it to shore, but Henle did not.”
Searchers and rescue teams from all over Colorado looked for Henle’s body. The reservoir froze over in November, and his body was not found until March 23 by an employee of the City of Aurora Water Department, which owns the reservoir and leases the fishing rights to the state.
Kevin Tobey, the park manager, said he hoped the tragedy would be educational. The law does not require life jackets for people over 12, he said, “but it is always a good idea to have them on, because it is very difficult to locate and put on life jackets when sudden or unexpected problems occur.”
