Horseshoe Lake drowning victim identified

A 6-year-old Bremerton boy believed to have drowned Tuesday afternoon in Horseshoe Lake in South Kitsap has been identified as Malachi Dewalt, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office.

Dewalt was pronounced dead at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma Tuesday.

The boy's father called 911 shortly before 2:30 p.m. reporting that his son was missing and was last seen in the lake, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office (KCSO). The father said family members had been searching for Dewalt about 10 minutes before calling 911.

Deputies quickly responded to the lake and found that the child had been located underwater. He was unconscious and not breathing. Dewalt had been pulled from the lake and people were administering first aid, KCSO said. The deputy and a 44-year-old woman began administering resuscitative efforts on the boy.

South Kitsap Fire & Rescue aid and medic units arrived and took over first aid efforts. They transported the boy to Tacoma, where he was pronounced dead at approximately 3:45 p.m.

Sheriff's detectives responded to the scene and have initiated an investigation into the boy's death. KCSO will await the findings of the medical examiner as part of the investigative process, but, at this point, investigators are handling the incident as an accidental death.

People with information about this incident are asked to contact Detective Chad Birkenfeld at (360) 337-5619.

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