Boy dies after going under houseboat at Lake Mead

An 11-year-old boy died after being caught under a houseboat at Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Thursday night.

National Park Service spokesman Andrew Muñoz said a person on the boat called 911 about 8:45 p.m. reporting that the boy had been caught underneath but had been pulled back on board. Somebody on the boat was performing CPR.

The caller gave the boat’s number to the dispatcher, but Muñoz said there was confusion between the dispatcher and park rangers because the boat number was given as a street address.

It wasn’t until 11 p.m. that the boy was flown out of area, he said. A Mercy Air helicopter flew to find the boat and relayed the coordinates to a Las Vegas police search-and-rescue helicopter that had not yet arrived.

The boat was beached in an area about 1,000 yards north of Echo Bay, and the police helicopter flew the boy to the waiting Mercy Air helicopter, which flew him to University Medical Center, Muñoz said.

The boy was pronounced dead at the hospital. His name was not released.

Investigators didn’t know how the boy became trapped under the boat or if he was wearing a life vest.