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LEESBURG - Rescue crews pulled the body of a Leesburg man from the Leesburg Gravel Pit Saturday afternoon more than an hour after he went under water and didn't resurface.
The death of Avon Castillo, 36, of East Van Buren Street, Leesburg, was ruled an accidental drowning.
Castillo and two friends were at the gravel pit between 2 and 3 p.m. Saturday when Castillo reportedly decided to swim to the small island on the east side of the water. When Castillo was nearly to his destination, he began to panic and yell for help, police said.
Eric LeFavour of Leesburg told police that he went into the water in an attempt to help Castillo, but Castillo went under water before he could reach him and LeFavour could not locate Castillo. At the same time, another man, Nick Robinson of Leesburg, ran to LeFavour's house to call for help, placing a 911 call from there at 3:02 p.m. Officers arrived at the scene in less than 10 minutes and divers and a helicopter were called in to help locate Castillo, who would have celebrated his 37th birthday on Tuesday.
A fisherman also witnessed Castillo struggling in the water, but told police he at first thought that Castillo was playing or pretending to be in trouble until he saw another man go into the water to help him.
Castillo's body was recovered at 4:35 p.m. after being spotted from the air by officers in an Indiana State Police helicopter. The area from which Castillo was recovered was 6 to 7 feet deep and weedy, according to a Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department press release.
Also assisting at the scene of the incident were personnel from Leesburg and North Webster fire departments and Plain Township and Multi-Township emergency medical services.
