They were on an Arizona lake when their boat, which was being pulled, flipped over and trapped the three of them.
A news statement from the National Park Service said that the tragic event happened on Friday afternoon at the mouth of Navajo Canyon on Lake Powell. Another boater was pulling a 25-foot privately owned pontoon boat at the time. After being pulled, the boat eventually capsized because of waves in the water, trapping some of the 11 people who were on board.
Police say that Melissa Bean, 72, Gabriel Hart, 4, and Zeniff Cox, 4, all died in the accident.
The National Park Service says that when they got the call at 3:18 p.m., Glen Canyon National Recreation Area guards went right there and found some of the party on top of the pontoon boat and others in the water.
Boaters in the area also helped get the victims out of the water.
The Page Fire Department and park rangers gave emergency medical care at the scene. Two patients were also flown to the hospital by helicopter, officials said.
A GoFundMe page set up to help the family says that the three people who died were all from the same family, but it’s not clear how they are connected.
The Cox family said that the “tragic boating accident” on Lake Powell on Friday killed “three beloved family members.”
The page said, “Our hearts hurt as we deal with this sudden and heartbreaking loss.”
Besides the “unimaginable grief,” the fundraising page said that other family members, like 7-year-old Audrey Cox, are still in the hospital.
She was flown from the scene of the accident to the intensive care unit, where she is now in a medically forced coma. Bradley Bean’s husband, Roland “Rock” Bean, is also in the hospital getting care for his injuries.
The fundraiser has raised more than $40,000 of its $75,000 goal. The family says they will use the money to pay for the funerals of the young boys and Bean, Audrey’s medical bills, and to help the parents of both sons who have died.
The National Park Service and the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office both said they were sorry for what happened and are still looking into it.
A spokesman for the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, Lt. Adam Simonsen, said in a statement that it is “not unusual for us to investigate a death on the water sometime during the year.” But this is certainly a tragic situation—three people have died and two are in serious condition—and it’s not something that happens very often.