Boy who drowned at Joplin-area water park couldn't swim

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) -- A 6-year-old boy who drowned at a water park near Joplin did not know how to swim, investigators said.

Ethan Cory of Joplin died Tuesday while on a field trip with the Boys and Girls Club of Southwest Missouri at a commercial water park south of Joplin called The Swimmin' Hole.

Investigators from the Newton County Sheriff's Office said the boy's parents, John and Lauren Cory, told them Ethan could not swim.

The boy was discovered in about 4 feet of water underneath a slide.

"It looks like he was in deeper water than he could handle," said Chief Deputy Chris Jennings of the Newton County Sheriff's Department.

Investigators believe there were as many as six adults chaperoning about 30 children on the field trip.

Although the investigation is continuing, Jennings said, the case will likely be ruled an accidental drowning.

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Information from: The Joplin Globe, http://www.joplinglobe.com