Reservoir Tragedy Hits Ashburn Family
Posted: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 10:06 am
By the time missing boater Tony DiGiovanna was found Monday around noon friends and neighbors of the Broadlands man and his family were already coming together, seeking comfort, looking for ways to support his wife and children and trying to make sense of his tragic death.
Hundreds of Broadlands residents and friends of the DiGiovannas gathered Monday night on the family's street to show their support and love during a candlelight vigil, where people spoke about how he had touched their lives. And for his friends that is what they remember.
"He was bigger than life. He was just this force," close friend Tom DeMay said. "There are so many people I know that said they weren't good with people and through Tony they were able to have this huge network of friends. He was all encompassing. Every other week, he would just reach out and say, ‘this is what we're doing, come on.'"
DiGiovanna's body was found by divers and search parties in the Beaverdam Creek Reservoir about noon Monday, almost 24 hours after his canoe capsized sending him, his 7-year-old son and their dog into the water.
According to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, DiGiovanna was canoeing in the reservoir with his son and a dog Sunday afternoon when the vessel flipped over around 2:30 p.m. DiGiovanna was not wearing a life jacket, but his son was. Web and Facebook accounts from friends and witnesses say DiGiovanna was yelling and encouraging his son to swim to the dock, which is why he moved away from the flipped canoe.
His son, whose name has not been released by the sheriff's office, was able to get to shore with the help of teenage bystanders who entered the water to help. The dog was able to swim to shore.
"From what we understand the father was having trouble swimming and [witnesses] couldn't get out there before he went under," sheriff's office spokesman KraigTroxell said.
While there is not yet an official cause of death it is believed DiGiovanna drowned. As of this time there is no indication as to why the canoe capsized, Troxell said. "It appears to just be a tragic accident."
The last drowning in the reservoir occurred in 1999, when a 22-year-old Leesburg man died after entering the water one July evening.
The reservoir is often used for boating and fishing and Sunday's unusually warm temperature brought people out to the water. Despite the warm weather, Troxell said the water temperature was only around 50 degrees. The area where DiGiovanna's body was found is approximately 15 feet deep.
Brought by calls from witnesses, deputies responded along with crews from Loudoun County Fire-Rescue to the scene for report of a needed water rescue. But the efforts quickly turned into a search for DiGiovanna with the sheriff's office Underwater Search and Recovery Team and the Fairfax Police Department helicopter working through the afternoon Sunday and beginning again early Monday morning.
DiGiovanna's son was transported to Inova Loudoun Hospital as a precaution, and was released around noon Monday.
This week, DiGiovanna is being remembered as a skilled pilot, a youth sports league coach, an active member of his church, a passionate musician, and, above all, a beloved father and friend. A Facebook page, R.I.P. Tony DiGiovanna, was started, with family, friends and strangers leaving notes of love and prayers for him and his family.
"He was everything. You name it, he did it," DeMay said. "Tony never let a day be wasted. That's exactly why he was out on the creek."
The two men played music together every couple of weeks since meeting in 2003, and DeMay recalled the night last year when the two attended the Patriot Center concert of Further, a band started by former members of the Grateful Dead.
"Tony brings all this music gear to the concert, and we just set up and started to jam there in the parking lot. Soon we had a small crowd around us, everyone just having fun," DeMay said. "That was Tony. That was who he was."