Teen stepbrothers who drowned at park were found holding onto each other
A summer day in Sanford, Maine, turned heartbreaking when two teenage stepbrothers, Tavayne Weir, 17, and D’andre Graham, 16, drowned while swimming at the Springvale Recreation Area in July last year.
The boys had told their family they were heading out for a swim, a plan that seemed harmless on a warm day. The area is known for its scenic waters — and for the 30-foot cliffs where swimmers often take daring jumps.
When Tavayne and D’andre missed their 10 p.m. curfew, their worried parents contacted authorities. Police soon located the boys’ car near the recreation area around 11 p.m., but there was no sign of them nearby.
Rescue crews from the fire department joined the search, sweeping the dark water with flashlights and high-intensity beams. After more than an hour and a half, the devastating discovery was made — the boys’ bodies were found submerged beneath the surface.
Major Matthew Gagne of the Sanford Police Department told reporters,
“We don’t know if they were jumping or just swimming because we don’t know exactly what time they went in. We assume they were probably by themselves… There was probably a one- or two-mile-an-hour current, too, so that can change where they were located.”