News
News-Herald Photo/Sharon Dunham Richard Ross, left, boating safety officer, and Sgt. Doug Schuster, both with the Mohave County Sheriff's Department, show third-graders at Oro Grande Elementary School on Friday the materials in water safety packets now being distributed to the community's second- and third-graders. The 25 students are in Jill Koebler's class. Looking at the material, clockwise from the left around the large table, are Grace Pattison, Nataly Martinez, Aspen Rubenking, Jose Razo between the officers, Matthew Standsberry, Marissa Salter and Danielle Moss. In the back, from the left, are Juan Crespo Ortiz, Corey Shelton, and Paige Waller. Marcos Garcia is on the far right in the back.
Girl's death leads to water safety program

By Sharon Dunham
Monday, May 16, 2005 9:08 PM MST

A group of Lake Havasu City children are turning the death of a child by drowning into a memorial project that could help save other children from the same tragedy.

The Lake Havasu chapter of the Children of the American Revolution, called the Hisatsinom Society, have gathered water safety information from the community for packets that are being distributed to second- and third-graders in the community.

The "Spirit of Sarah Safe Swim and Boating Project" envelopes feature a photograph of Sarah Lautenbach, the 3 1/2-year-old daughter of Rick and Jinny Lautenbach, who died June 14, 2004, in a Las Vegas swimming pool. Rick, a 1983 Lake Havasu High School graduate, was a Lake Havasu City Police officer for several years.

Sarah's grandmother, Connie Lautenbach, is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Lake Havasu City, which sponsored the CAR group's formation.

Connie Lautenbach said her family wanted to establish a memorial for her granddaughter similar to the Amber Alert, the national system named for a lost child that helps alert the public to find other lost children.

Lautenbach said she wants this water safety project expanded to the rest of Mohave County and to the state and nation.

Community water safety proponents agreed to help with the packets, donating materials for both children and their parents. Packets contain Lake Havasu City legal requirements for swimming pools, Arizona boating laws, and a schedule of swimming lessons at the Aquatic Center.

Children will find a picture to color from the Mohave County Sheriff's Department's Boating Safety Division, and a Fishing Fun booklet that the Future Fisherman Foundation provided.

The sheriff's department, Arizona State Parks, Lake Havasu City, the city Parks and Recreation Department and the DAR all supported the project.

Both DAR and CAR members must trace their ancestry back to a family member involved with the American Revolution to join the groups. Men are eligible for the Sons of the American Revolution. All these non-partisan groups promote American history, heritage and preservation.

Cody Smith, president of the Hisatsinom Society, wrote and enclosed a letter introducing the project. For more information about Sarah Lautenbach, go online at www.remembersarah.com/index.html.

Lautenbach said her granddaughter was with her mother at a friend's house June 14 when she ran after a cat and accidentally went into the pool.

"She was so energetic," Lautenbach said. "You would blink your eyes and she was gone."

You may contact the reporter at sdunham@havasunews.com.