Father who tried to save son from drowning released from hospital

The parents of a 5-year-old boy who drowned at a North Carolina beach say their son was a happy and good child.

Ruben Velasquez and his wife, Sayra, fought back tears as they described the horror of seeing their son drown and not being able to save him.

Mr. Velasquez, who was injured trying to save Uriel, was released from the hospital and back home Tuesday for his son's wake.

The parents say Uriel was playing in the water with his two siblings at North Topsail Beach on Saturday when suddenly he was going under.

A family friend translated Mrs. Velasquez's comments, saying, "She run. Her daughter was behind her. She run as much as she could yelling for help. Somebody came up and help her and she told her that she need help, that her husband and son were drowning."

Mrs. Velasquez says the family knows how to swim "a little," and that they've been to North Topsail many times to fish, which was Uriel's favorite thing to do with his father.

A funeral for the child is planned for Wednesday.

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Authorities have released the name of a five year old who drowned Saturday on one of our beaches.

North Topsail Beach police have identified the victim as Uriel Velesquez of Faison. His father, 28-year-old Ruben Velesquez, remains at Vidant Medical Center.

The hospital Tuesday morning said they have no information on the man's condition.

Police say they were patrolling near Beach Access #3 at the end of River Road when they discovered the drowning around 8:00 p.m. Saturday.

The youngster was taken to Camp Lejeune's Naval Hospital where he was pronounced dead later that night.

A five year old boy has drowned and his father is recovering after an accident this past weekend at North Topsail Beach.

Police say they were patrolling near Beach Access #3 at the end of River Road when they discovered the drowning around 8:00 p.m. Saturday.

The youngster was taken to Camp Lejeune's Naval Hospital where he was pronounced dead later that night. The 28-year-old father from Faison was first taken to Onslow Memorial Hospital and later transferred to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville.

Police have not said how long the two might have been in the water, nor any other details of the accident.

The child is the seventh drowning victim along our coast this summer.