'First one to help anybody': Missouri man drowns after rescuing 2 people in lake
A Missouri man drowned after jumping in the water to save his girlfriend's 5-year-old son, according to local reports.
David Moore, 66, from St. Joseph, Missouri, died Aug. 17 after he jumped into the water when the boy, who was wearing a life vest, began to float away from the boat. Another person who was not wearing a life vest also fell into the water, KQ2 ABC and KCTV 5 reported.
Moore was also not wearing a vest when he jumped in.
The two people fell off a pontoon boat on Smithville Lake, about 30 miles north of Kansas City.
Moore was able to rescue the two people and get them back on the boat, but the current pulled him away from the boat, causing him to drown. The other two people survived.
His head went underwater three times before he disappeared. The Missouri State Highway Patrol later found Moore's body, reports KCTV 5.
David Moore 'spent a lifetime' helping others
"David lost his life helping others out and wouldn't have had it end any other way," according to a GoFundMe that was put together to help raise money for funeral costs.
The GoFundMe raised around $100, but was later deactivated by the organizer, Jeff Penland.
“He would be the first one to help anybody,” Moore's childhood friend William “Bill” Penland told KCTV.
Police and Moore's family are urging people to wear their life vests on the water.