Tragedy struck the Lake Nona community as a 15-year-old student from Lake Nona High School, Antony Garcia Santana, was identified as the victim who drowned in a local lake last week. According to a report by ClickOrlando, the Orlando Police Department reported that his body was recovered from Lake Whippoorwill after Santana went missing during a kayaking and paddle-boarding outing with friends.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office dive teams, deployed in the search, managed to locate Santana nearly a day after the incident. The retrieval at around 12:20 p.m. Thursday was a somber confirmation of a day-long effort to find the young student desperately. As informed by WESH, a resident watching the search efforts, Renaud Adorno, described the scene, saying, "Everyone was trying to look for him, there were two helicopters, drones and a diver team came in."
Orange County Public Schools Superintendent Maria Vazquez responded to the news of Santana's passing with a public expression of sorrow. "I am heartbroken by the loss of one of our Lake Nona High School students who tragically died off campus Wednesday evening," she said in a statement obtained by ClickOrlando. Vazquez added, "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends during this difficult time."
