A 10-year-old girl was pulled from Lake Tapps in critical condition Sunday after bystanders spotted her struggling in the water roughly 10 to 20 feet offshore near North Lake Tapps Park and rushed to help before deputies arrived to begin CPR.
Emergency responders were dispatched to 1790 Dike Road East after a report of a girl in the water, according to The News Tribune. Pierce County Sheriff's Office Deputy Carly Cappetto said the call came in Sunday, and a deputy who reached the scene began CPR on the girl while bystanders had already helped pull her from the water. East Pierce Fire & Rescue was reportedly also dispatched to the incident.
A Pierce County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman said the girl was transported to a local hospital in critical condition. The outlet's report, authored by Rolf Boone, did not provide an update on her condition beyond that point.
A Lake With No Lifeguards on Duty
North Lake Tapps Park, the 135-acre county facility near where the girl was found, does not employ lifeguards, meaning every swimmer enters the water at their own risk, per Pierce County Parks. The park offers roughly 10,000 feet of waterfront access along with a sandy swim beach, walking trails, and views of Mount Rainier, making it the primary public beach access point on the lake. To help fill the safety gap left by the absence of lifeguards, the park maintains a self-serve life jacket loaner kiosk stocked with sizes from infant to adult, developed in partnership with East Pierce Fire & Rescue.
The lake's deceptive thermal layering adds another hazard for swimmers who may not expect it. While surface temperatures at Lake Tapps can climb into the upper 70s during peak summer, water just a few feet below the surface hovers in the mid-50s due to glacial runoff, according to KING5. That steep temperature gradient can trigger sudden cold water shock and muscle incapacitation within 10 minutes, a danger that can overwhelm even strong swimmers without warning.
Drought Has Exposed New Hazards Along the Shoreline
The incident comes as Lake Tapps is already under strain from an unrelated environmental crisis. Pierce County Parks announced in late July that it would close the North Lake Tapps Park boat launch effective August 14 due to severe drought and record-low White River flows that pushed reservoir levels below safe recreational thresholds. Low water levels have also exposed shallow submerged logs and debris along the park's shoreline areas, adding to the list of hidden hazards swimmers face beyond the cold water itself.
East Pierce Fire & Rescue maintains a dedicated marine rescue facility on the north end of the lake to respond to open-water emergencies across its 152-square-mile district. The agency was formed through the merger of several local fire departments, including the former Lake Tapps Fire Department. Its proximity to North Lake Tapps Park has made it a frequent responder to water emergencies at the site over the years.
A History of Water Emergencies at the Same Park
Sunday's rescue is not the first serious water incident at North Lake Tapps Park. In June 2021, the Pierce County Sheriff's Office reported conducting three separate water rescues at the park within the early summer season alone, two of which ended in fatal drownings. First responders have repeatedly issued public warnings about hidden drop-offs and cold water risks at the location.
Statewide, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death among children and teens ages 1 to 17 in Washington, claiming an average of 17 young lives each year, according to Seattle Children's Hospital. Roughly 89 percent of youth drownings in the state occur in natural open water bodies like Lake Tapps rather than pools. Nationally, drowning remains the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14, accounting for more than 860 youth fatalities across the country each year, per the Washington State Department of Health.
A review by the Washington State Child Death Review found that 85 percent of unintentional open-water drownings among children and youth in the state are preventable through measures such as life jackets and active supervision. Health authorities recommend designating a dedicated “water watcher” adult to keep eyes on children near natural waterways, a practice that can make the difference in unsupervised settings like North Lake Tapps Park, where no lifeguards are on duty and swimmers rely on quick action from bystanders and first responders when something goes wrong.
