A woman and her two little brothers have tragically drowned in a boating accident during a trip out onto a lake.
Raven Powell and her younger brothers Mason, four, and Sawyer, three, drowned at a lake in Georgia, USA, on Thursday.
The young boys were said to have been thrilled ahead of their trip to the Amity Recreation Area of Clarks Hill Lake with their big sister.
Raven took a video of her and her brothers playing in the lake the very same day they all drowned. The last known photo of the trio reportedly shows at least one of the young boys wearing a lifejacket.
Lincoln County Sheriff Paul Reviere confirmed the deaths of the 22-year-old and the two young boys.
Their cousin, Hannah Redfern, spoke out following her family’s heartbreaking loss. She said: “They were our world. They mean everything to us. There are no words to describe it other than horrible. It’s crazy how it happened within a blink of an eye.”
Speaking to local outlet WIS-TV, she continued: “Both boys were the happiest ever. You never see them without a smile on their face unless they were hungry.”
However now the tragedy has made her never want to return to the lake.
Redfern added: “I have this video of me just lying there on the couch with both boys. At the end of the video, both grabbed me by my face and kissed me, and Sawyer had just learned to say I love you. He said, ‘I love you,’. They are at peace now.”
An investigation into their deaths is ongoing and local officials haven’t ruled out foul play.
The county coroner’s office reported that the three siblings died at some point after 5pm but game wardens only received a call about a possible triple drowning around 9pm.
This means that hours passed between when they allegedly died and their bodies being recovered. No further details about what happened have been shared.
Local media reported that the young boys were recovered from the lake by bystanders while Raven was still missing.
Only after local law enforcement used SONAR equipment were they able to find her body, which was recovered just before 11pm Thursday.
All three bodies were sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab.
The three siblings are not the first people to tragically die whilst out on the lake.
In the same area, best friends Eynn Wilson and edward Kirk drowned just over a year ago while on a boating excursion with family and friends.
