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Police: 29-year-old man drowns while trying to save cousin at Claremore Lake

Posted at 7:13 PM, Jun 26, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-26 20:13:26-04

CLAREMORE -- There is no shortage of smiles when Natasha Morrison and her two young children play at the splash pad at Claremore Lake.

"My kids love the park," Morrison said. "I used to come out here and run all the time, so i just feel like i kind of grown up here through the years."

 Tragedy, however, hangs like a cloud for Morrison after Jolson Neha drowned not far from where her children played on Monday.

Police said Neha, 29, dove in when his cousin fell from the steep, rocky shore and started struggling in the water. 

His cousin made it out alive, but Neha never came back up. Police said it took crews more than five hours to recover the body, which was about eight feet from shore.

"You know, we always think what we would do in that situation, but i feel like that is kind of a natural reaction especially with someone you know. you're with them," Morrison said. "You're just going to go after him. You're not going to think, 'oh we're not going to make it.'"

While Morrison watches out for her own family, she hopes the victim's family will find some comfort from the last heroic moments of his life.

"He died a hero, basically," Morrison said.

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