12-year-old falls off dock, drowns in South Jersey lake

BURLINGTON TOWNSHIP — A 12-year-old boy fishing with friends fell into a lake and drowned on Thursday afternoon.

The boy jumped off a dock and into the water but did not return to the surface, prompting a call to 911, according to Burlington Township Police.

Police, fire and rescue, including the State Police dive team and aviation unit, went to Sylvan Lake in Burlington Township after getting the 911 call, and frantically tried to locate the Burlington City boy. His body was recovered around 7:45 p.m.

Foul play is not suspected by police in the incident. Police did not disclose the boy's identity.

A spokesman for the township told the Burlington County Times the boy was with several friends on the upper dock of the lake. Two boys jumped in the lake but one didn't come back up, according to the spokesman, who described the lake in that area as "murky," with undergrowth and depths than can quickly go from shallow to 16 feet deep.

The boy attended the Wilbur Watts Intermediate School, according to a Facebook post by Beth Anne Wells, an educational assistant at the school.

"I hope my Wilbur Watts and Burlington City kids know how much I love them. Today we all suffered a loss of a student but a family is suffering a devastating loss of a son, a brother, a grandson, a cousin. Please keep the family in your prayers. Each one reach one, our young people need us," Wells posted.

A post Wells shared said the boy's family will hold a candlelight vigil at the lake on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ.

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