The hero’s grandmother dies days after she dove into a Georgia lake in a desperate attempt to save her 13-year-old granddaughter, who tragically drowned
- A grandmother has died after trying to save her drowned granddaughter
- Stephanie Walker, 49, dove into a lake in Georgia after Makayla Prather, 13
- Sadly, Makayla drowned on June 11, while Stephanie died a week later on June 18
A grandmother has died a week in intensive care after heroically trying to save her granddaughter who drowned in a lake.
Stephanie Walker was found unresponsive and not breathing on June 11 after jumping into West Point Lake in Georgia after Makayla Prather.
Authorities said Stephanie went into the lake after her 13-year-old granddaughter panicked while swimming.
The 49-year-old never recovered after the first drowning incident despite a week in hospital and died on June 18, according to local media reports.
Grandmother Stephanie Walker, 49, died a week after trying to rescue her granddaughter Makayla Pranther, 13, who drowned in a Georgia lake
Makayla Prather tragically drowned at West Point Lake on June 11, and her body was recovered by a dive team that same day
Stephanie was taken to hospital in critical condition after being pulled from the water (pictured) but sadly died a week later, CBS46 News reported
“We believe one of the victims got into the water off shore and became distressed,” Troup County Deputy Sheriff Stewart Smith said of the first incident in a statement to LaGrange News last week.
Smith said they believed Stephanie was distraught after jumping into the lake.
“And the second victim went into the water to help them and became desperate himself.”
Authorities acknowledged that information about what happened was limited because no one was there when it happened.
“There were no eyewitnesses to the incident,” Smith said.
According to Smith, the sheriff’s office received the call about the incident from someone who was with the victims shortly before the accident.
“Our caller, who had been with the two prior to the event, had just returned to the scene when he found the adult victim in the water,” he said.
The Troup County Sheriff’s Office was notified of the incident around 2:00 p.m. that day, the LaGrange Daily News reported.
According to WSB-TV, they found that the grandmother did not respond when police reached the lake.
Police said there were no eyewitnesses to the incident, but one person saw the couple shortly before
It is believed that Makayla became distressed in the water and then Stephanie entered the lake to try to save her
Stephanie was taken to Well Star West Georgia Medical Center, where she died Saturday, more than a week after the accident.
It took a few hours longer for rescue teams to locate Makayla, who was not found until late Saturday evening, June 11.
Rodrikeus Prather, Stephanie’s son, has now organized a fundraiser to cover the funeral costs. He said: “There was a tragic drowning at West Point Lake on Saturday.
“My mother, Stephanie Walker, a heroine, jumped into the lake to save my niece. Unfortunately my mother passed away this morning while fighting on life support and she is at peace. We ask that you keep us in prayer as we go through this tragic moment.
“We are reaching out to our families, friends and loved ones to help with the funeral expenses for Stephanie Walker, the grandmother of my niece Makayla Prather.
“We appreciate and thank you for all your donations and prayers.”