Iowa man dies while swimming with son in Alaska's Lake Clark National Park

An Iowa man died Saturday while swimming with his son at the Lake Clark National Park and Reserve in Alaska.

Matthew Burns, 47, of Keokuk, Iowa was swimming below the Tanalian Falls inside the southwest portion of the park on Saturday, August 19, with his adult son when the two were caught by the current and swept down the river, the National Park Service said in a news release. The son was able to exit the river immediately, but the father disappeared, the park service said.

The state department of public safety, which includes the Alaska State Troopers, said Burns' 21-year-old son was pulled into the water by the current, prompting his father to enter the water to help him. While the son was able to escape the current and get out, the father was unable to and died from drowning, officials said in a dispatch. They did not release the son's name.

Local volunteers from Port Alsworth spotted Burns at the mouth of the Tanalian River and recovered him before rangers arrived, the park service said. Life-saving efforts were made to resuscitate him but he could not survive, the agency said.

Burn's body was transferred to the state medical examiner. While no foul play is suspected, NPS rangers continue to investigate the incident in cooperation with state troopers.

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NPS, in its statement, also thanked local community members and volunteer rescue personnel for their efforts and extended its "deepest condolences to the family and friends affected by this event".

Lake Clark National Park, located about 120 miles southwest of Anchorage, is not on any roads and is accessed by plane or boat. Remote and undeveloped, the park covers about 4 million acres on the Alaska Peninsula and houses the ancestral homelands of the Dena'ina people. Attractions include mountains, lakes and steaming volcanoes, salmon fishing, and wildlife.

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