By Associated Press - Thursday, September 14, 2017

MOAB, Utah (AP) - Utah officials say a 70-year-old Moab man drowned during a family trip to the Colorado River after he tried to save a young relative.

A news release by the Grand County Sheriff’s Office says James Laverne Gregoire was attempting to bring a child back to safety, when he was heard yelling that he was having cramps before going underwater. A dive team from the Moab Fire Department retrieved Gregoire’s body on Wednesday from a depth of 10 feet (3 meters), about 30 feet (9 meters) away from the shore of a beach near Moab, where his family had been.

Officials say the child had been wearing a floatation device and reached the shore safely.



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