An angler on Topaz Lake on May 12. Conditions on the lake were breezy on Sunday with 20-30 mph wind gusts reported from weather stations on either end.
Kathy Chipman Wicker | Special to The R-C
A Sparks man was pronounced dead after he was found floating in Topaz Lake around 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
Initial reports were that 55-year-old Todd Anderson was spotted floating in the rocks off the end of Comstock Drive near the Topaz Landing and Marina.
Samaritans pulled him out of the water and were performing CPR when deputies and East Fork firefighters arrived.
He was transported to Carson Valley Health, where he was pronounced dead.
The initial investigation indicates he was attempting to get a buoy out of the water when he drowned,” according to Douglas County Sheriff Dan Coverley.
“This tragic event demonstrates the risks of being in water that is snow runoff this time of year,” Coverley said. “The water is extremely cold and dangerous during the spring.”
The National Weather Service is warning people to be careful around waterways during the spring melt-off when streams, rivers and lakes are extremely cold.
Cold water shock can occur in water 59 degrees or cooler and can cause a heart attack even in a healthy person.
On Thursday, Douglas County commissioners proclaimed May 18-24
National Safe Boating Week.
The proclamation was accepted by U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Liaison Bruce Martin.
It has been five years since two Sparks men drowned when their boat capsized at Topaz Lake in January 2019.
