Church Brother Dies With Friend He Was Trying to Save From Drowning at Men's Retreat
The senior pastor of a Florida church is now grieving with the families of two men in his congregation who drowned Saturday during a men's retreat.
Rev. Jose "Jessie" Perez of Rio de Vida Ministries, which meets at Bayshore Gardens Community Church in Bradenton, Florida, told the Bradenton Herald that he watched helplessly as evangelist Julian Palma, 44, and Ivan Torres, 29, drowned in Lake Manatee.
Perez said he and the now deceased along with 11 other men were fellowshipping at Lake Manatee State Park for the weekend starting Friday. On Saturday, they fanned out on the lake in four boats after a morning period of worship.
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Some of the men also decided to fish and paddle in canoes and kayaks. Perez explained that a canoe with Palma, Torres and another man, associate pastor Juan Gomez, was trying to move toward a section of the lake where he and another congregant were fishing when tragedy struck.
At the middle of the lake a wave capsized the canoe, Perez told the Herald, and all three men went in the water.
Gomez gripped the canoe and tried to encourage the other men to do the same.
"Juan was telling them, 'Don't leave the canoe,'" Perez said. "The two others left it and started swimming. But they just couldn't make it."
Perez says he thinks Palma stopped holding onto the canoe in an attempt to save Torres who tried to swim to safety.
"Julian saw Ivan go down, and he let go and tried to save him," Perez said.
While Palma tried saving Torres, Perez said he was also trying to get to the men as fast as he could.
"I heard them screaming," said Perez. "They were swimming. I turned around and tried to go toward them. We weren't able to reach them. As we were going toward them, we saw Ivan actually submerge. We were about 100 feet from him and we got closer and Julian submerged also. We were not able to get to them. But we got Juan Gomez. He is with us."
James Boogaerts, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman, told the Herald that the waters of Lake Manatee in the eastern part of Manatee County were rough shortly after noon on Saturday.
"The lake was choppy with strong wind," Boogaerts said. "We are looking at this as an accident with no foul play involved."
Perez says, however, that during the incident there was no strong wind or rough water, but the wave, he said, came out of nowhere.
"I still don't know the wave that hit them," Perez said. "Maybe a boat created one. I know the current was strong because it was dragging us. We were fishing and it was pushing us."
Rev. Luis Brignoni, who is pastor of the Hispanic church at The Family Church at Christian Retreat, remembers the deceased as "amazing men of God."
"They were both amazing men of God," Brignoni said. "Julian was one of those pastors who practiced what he preached. He had so much love in his heart."
Palma is also a founding member of Rio de Vida.
"I can't believe he is gone," Perez said of Palma. "His generosity, his kindness, his light for God. He would give without having himself. He was our evangelist. He had the gift of healing. The Lord has used him for a lot of miracles."
Torres was also remembered by his pastor as "a very faithful member of the church who came as often as he could."
Palma is married with four children while Torres leaves behind a wife, Mariana. The families are currently trying to raise $20,000 through a GoFundMe campaign to help with funeral expenses. Anyone wanting to donate can also call the church at 941-755-3503.
