Man drowns in Bellagio fountains on Las Vegas Strip

Las Vegas police said a “local transient” man drowned Friday in the Bellagio fountains on the Strip.

In a Friday afternoon briefing in front of the fountains, Metropolitan Police Department Capt. Dori Koren said the man’s state of mind when he jumped into the water was unclear.

Koren said the man, who was between about 40 and 50, “engaged” some tourists before jumping in and swimming out into the middle of the fountains, where the water can be as deep as 13 feet.

The man then began struggling. A tourist jumped in to help, but he “unfortunately wasn’t able to get very far,” Koren said.

“It was too late by the time we responded,” he said.

Clark County Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Jennifer Wyatt confirmed earlier Friday that divers had recovered the man’s body from the fountains.

Kayla Eklund, a 21-year-old college student from Michigan, said she called 911 after she and a friend witnessed the man struggling to swim.

Before the man jumped in, he was talking to himself, Eklund said. He made it to the middle of the fountains before turning back, and he started struggling when he was near the spot where he jumped in, she said.

“He was just staying in one spot treading water,” she said. “He started yelling, ‘Help, help, help!’ ”

Eklund said she called 911 while another man jumped into the water in an attempt to assist. She saw another person jump into the fountains, but Koren said that was a possibly “mentally unstable” person who was not related to the drowning man.

“I’ve never seen anyone die,” Eklund said. “We kept thinking: What could we have done?”

Eklund flew into Las Vegas for the first time on Friday morning to visit a friend, just hours before she witnessed the drowning.

She said she did not think she needed to call 911 at first because the man was swimming “confidently.” Once he started treading water, Eklund said, she encouraged the man to “just keep kicking.”

She said it felt like it took police 10 to 15 minutes to arrive once she called 911.

Koren said he did not have the exact time police arrived at the fountains. In a statement earlier Friday, Metro said officers were called to the casino property about 10:10 a.m.

LeTorrence Dowell, 31, also described watching the man jump into the water on Friday morning. Dowell said he was drinking a Red Bull on the balcony of his hotel room at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas when he noticed someone swimming in the fountain.

He recorded the man swimming but then saw him start to struggle. He watched as the tourist jumped in to try to help, but he “just couldn’t do it,” Dowell said.

“I keep thinking about it,” he said Friday afternoon. “I can’t stop looking at (the fountains).”

Brian Ahern, director of media relations for MGM Resorts International, said the company was assisting Metro in its investigation. He referred all questions to police.

Koren said about 1 p.m. that police would leave Bellagio soon after finishing their investigation. He said the man’s death was a reminder for people visiting Las Vegas to be careful around water attractions.

“Please just make sure that you do not jump in for any reason,” he said.

The man who died will be identified by the Clark County coroner’s office after his family has been notified.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.