Arkansas man trying to save child drowns in Oklahoma lake

POTEAU, Okla. (AP) — The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says that an Arkansas man has drowned while trying to save a 3-year-old boy who fell from a boat into an Oklahoma lake.

An OHP report says that 45-year-old Marlon Alexander Garcia of Van Buren drowned on Friday afternoon in Long Lake near Poteau. The report says that Garcia jumped from the pontoon boat after the 3-year-old, then began to struggle in the water.

The report says a 16-year-old on the boat then jumped into the lake and pulled the child from the water as Garcia disappeared beneath the surface.