A regular boater on the Ohio waterway, where five individuals drowned on Sunday, may have captured the last photo of the group. The images show five adults fishing in waist-deep water in the Scioto River, which are thought to be two couples and their friends, all of whom tragically died while trying to help one another, leaving behind at least two young orphans.
“I think the photo I took might be the last one of them alive,” remarked Marcus L. Martin, the person who took the picture.
Having boated on the river for a decade, Martin expressed concern upon noticing the group in a location he recognized as hazardous. “I remember learning that this spot could be dangerous due to its steep banks where people might easily fall in,” noted the Baptist pastor.
While out rowing, he noticed five adults in the water and two children on the adjacent grassy shore. He returned about two hours later to find the group still there.
“I wasn’t sure why, but I felt compelled to take that picture,” he reflected.
With over ten years of experience navigating the Scioto River, Martin considered warning the group about the potential danger but hesitated, not wanting to create a disturbance among several nearby boats.
The pastor has since struggled to sleep, grappling with his choice not to alert the group as news of the drowning emerged.
A tragic incident unfolded when one friend entered the water and struggled to swim. In efforts to save him, the other adults jumped in, but none of them—two sets of parents among them—were able to make it back to safety.
The bodies of two women were recovered on Sunday, followed by three men found the next day.
On Tuesday, Honduran authorities confirmed that four of the adults were nationals of Honduras. Jose Mario Pineda Diaz, 33, and his wife Marina Suyapa Regalado, 28, were identified, but the identities of the other couple and the fifth individual will be released once their families are notified.
