PROVO, Utah (AP) - The family and friends of two Saratoga Springs teenagers who drowned in Utah Lake after a catastrophic windstorm hit the area in May are proposing building a “life jacket loaner station” to prevent similar accidents from happening in the future.
Priscilla Bienkowski, 18, and Sophia Hernandez, 17, were reported missing on May 6 after disappearing from the Knolls area of Utah Lake. Nine days later, a search and rescue crew discovered their bodies miles away from where they had reportedly been swimming.
The proposal was submitted to the Utah County Commission during a work session Wednesday by Stephanie Cowles, Jon Guaman, Alicia Guaman and Tyler Bauer, who identified as the family and friends of the late teenage girls.
“We represent the family and friends of the two young ladies that passed away by drowning at Utah Lake on May 6, 2020: Priscilla Bienkowski and Sophia Hernandez,” the group wrote in the proposal. “The two young ladies had been floating on pool toys when a sudden storm came in - 50 mph winds and cold temperatures knocked them off their flotations and their lives came to end too soon.”
The group said that they and other family and friends “experienced unexplainable agony while searching for their bodies on water and land” but “found tremendous support from supportive strangers that have been affected by incidents at Utah Lake.”
“We talked to people who have lost loved ones and also learned that many have had close encounters at Utah Lake,” they wrote. “We also learned about the reputation Utah Lake has - it can be unpredictable and dangerous.”
The group proposed building a wooden station equipped with a life jacket rack at the entrance of the Knolls so Utah Lake recreators could take or leave life jackets free of charge, noting that “having a life jacket loaner station will help save lives and hopefully avoid the agony and pain many of us have experienced by this unfortunate situation.”
“We would like to memorialize Priscilla and Sophia and help others as well,” the proposal stated. “Had Priscilla and Sophia been wearing life jackets, according to Search and Rescue, their bodies would have been recovered a lot sooner, no matter the condition.”
Cowles, who is Bienkowski’s older sister, told the Utah County Commission Wednesday that Bienkowski and Hernandez’s family and friends would stock and maintain the life jacket station but wanted approval to build it on county property.
“There’s not really any signs (warning about wind),” Cowles said. “And so I think just having that (life jacket station) there would not only be an education purpose, but also it possibly could save the next person who is not really aware of the dangers of that lake … so they do just happen to grab a life jacket because it’s there, versus just going out there and thinking like, ‘oh, it’s fine. It’s just a lake. The water’s calm.’”
“From the county perspective, as far as putting this on the property up there, I don’t see any issue with that,” Utah County Public Works Director Richard Nielson told the commissioners. “We just want to coordinate the location.”
Commissioner Tanner Ainge said he supported the idea of building a life jacket loaner station to honor the Saratoga Springs teens and to educate the public on how to stay safe on Utah Lake.
“We spend a lot of time educating the public about algae blooms and other types of issues related to the lake,” Ainge said. “But the question is, is there enough information, is there enough signage, about how windy the lake can get?”
Cowles said that the life jacket station would feature a plaque honoring Hernandez and her little sister that would read: “Take one to save a life. Leave one to save another.”
“The fact that she (Bienkowski) made it so far, I kind of believe that if she was wearing a life jacket she maybe could have made it to shore,” said Cowles.
Since Wednesday’s commission meeting was a work session, the commission did not vote on any specific proposal regarding a life jacket loaner station.
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