Double tragedy for family as hero son, 15, tries to save little sister in lake

A family has endured a double tragedy after a hero son tried to save his little sister from a lake before tragedy struck and they both drowned.

Heather Dodds said stepson Kayden, 15, and stepdaughter Joyclyn, 12, died in a park close to the Wabigoon River in Ontario, Canada, last week when they went exploring the area that they had moved to recently. She said the pair went out with their cousins to check out the neighbourhood but ignored warnings not to go near the water as they had not learned to swim.

The grieving step mum said the children went to the water's edge before Joyclyn slipped in. She then started to struggle as she had no swimming experience.

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Dodds told CTV News: "You guys do not know how to swim yet. You are looking at swimming lessons this year. You’re not to be near the water, unless an adult is with you."

She claimed her son, who was also not an experienced swimmer, then jumped in to save his sister. The children's mother Stacey Grant said she was at home when she got a phone call notifying her that both of them died while on their walk.

Grant said she "replays the phone call in my head every day." She recalled the devastating phone call and said: "I don't get it. It doesn't make any sense. It should never have happened."

A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family pay for funeral expenses. Dodds wrote that Kayden and Joyclyn were fun loving and bright children." She added Kayden "loved video games" and that he went in after his sister as "most of all, he loved his little sister."

She described Joyclyn as "the type of girl that could walk into a room and light it up with her smile." Dodds continued: "She was always silly, loved to joke and laugh, and was obsessed with Stitch. Her favourite saying was 'Ohana means family, and family never gets left behind.' Our world seems a little darker without her bright light."

The family has since launched Water Wings, a water safety foundation, in the memory of the siblings. It aims to support children learn how to swim. "We didn’t have enough time to give them (Kayden and Joyclyn) the necessary skills. Had they had those skills, maybe we would be looking at a different situation," Dodds said.

"We want to provide awareness that kids really do need to learn how to swim. You never know what is going to happen, and water is everywhere. If your kids are young and don't know how to swim, reach out. Reach out to Water Wings. Reach out to your local swimming clubs. Kids need to know how to swim. You don't want to be in our position. You don't want to ever feel what we feel."