9:14 p.m. – Updated info on this afternoon’s tragedy:
Noah’s dad’s name is Ciriaco Gomez Benites. They are from Winter Haven. The cousin’s name is Gael Vasquez.
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4:43 p.m. – Tragic update in Winter Haven: PCSO has recovered the body of a 12-year-old child from Lake Roy. Sheriff Judd briefed the media at the scene shortly after 5:00 pm.
A brief summary of the events that led up to the drowning: A local father was enjoying spring break with his 12 year-old son, 9 year-old son and 10 year-old nephew.
They put their boat in the lake to fish and swim. The boat was in the middle of Lake Roy when the boys went for a swim. The waters were rough with gusty winds (up to 30 mph). The children immediately had trouble swimming in these conditions, so the father quickly attempted to pull the children back onto the boat. He pulled the 9 year-old and 10 year-old back onboard the boat.
The 12 year-old (identified as Noah Gomez) and boat were drifting apart from one another so the father quickly jumped into the water and got his son onto his back, attempting to swim back to the boat. The boy then slipped off of his father’s back into the almost 20 feet deep water.
One of the children who was safe aboard the boat dialed 911 and crews quickly responded. Noah sadly succumbed to drowning. He was recovered less than two hours later at the bottom of the lake.
Please keep the Gomez family and all responding crews in your prayers.
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3:12 UPDATE
The following is an update from PCSO:
“The Polk County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by the Winter Haven Police Department and Polk County Fire Rescue, is searching for a juvenile in Lake Roy in Winter Haven, who was swimming and has disappeared in the water.
We have our Marine Unit, equipped with underwater sonar devices, and our drones and helicopter overhead; PCFR has boats on the water as well, equipped with side-scan sonar devices.
We appreciate your patience and your distance from this active scene.”
Also please be advised: Eastbound lanes of Cypress Gardens Blvd in the curves area at Lake Roy is encountering severe backups due to a large law enforcement presence.
Drivers who usually travel eastbound on Cypress Gardens Blvd should consider taking 9th St around the area if at all possible. Westbound traffic is flowing with minor slowdowns.
We will continue to provide updates as they come in.
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Original post:
On March 20, 2025 multiple crews responded to a water rescue on Lake Roy Dr S in Winter Haven. The 911 call came in around 1:30 p.m.
Crews arrived on scene at the Lake Roy boat ramp to assist.
At the time of publication, this is an active scene.
We reached out to Polk County Fire Rescue’s PIO Nathanial Gale for preliminary details.
As of 3:00 p.m. the following information is confirmed:
Crews are currently searching the lake for one individual.
Five boats/search units in total are on scene conducting a search- two belonging to Polk County Sheriff’s Office, two belonging to Polk County Fire Rescue and one belonging to Winter Haven Police Department.
PCFR and PCSO both have drones on scene to assist.
We will update this article as more information comes in.
