Two Honduran Families Lost in Ohio River Tragedy

On a bright Sunday in late July, 33‑year‑old José Mario Pineda Díaz and his 28‑year‑old wife, Marina Suyapa Regalado, packed a cooler, a couple of fishing poles and their two kids for a relaxed day on the Scioto River near Powell, Ohio. They weren’t alone; a second Honduran couple and a friend joined the outing, hoping for a calm afternoon on the water.

A passerby on a boat captured a snapshot that now looks haunting: the five adults standing waist‑deep beside a large log, rods in hand, the river's surface appearing almost placid. In truth, the river was anything but gentle. U.S. Geological Survey data showed the current running high and fast that day.

What happened next is still being pieced together. According to Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer, one of the adults began to struggle, and several others leapt in to help. Within moments, the swift current overwhelmed them all, pulling the five adults under the water.

Rescue crews recovered the two women’s bodies on Sunday, while the three men were found on Monday. Honduran officials later confirmed that four of the victims—Díaz, Regalado and the other married couple—were Honduran citizens; the fifth adult remains unidentified.

Flabia Zamora, director of consular affairs for Honduras’s Foreign Ministry, said the Honduran government is cooperating with U.S. authorities to identify the victims and arrange for their return home, a process that could take a month or more. She added that the children, ages eight and ten, are currently under the care of the State of Ohio pending reunification with relatives back in Honduras.

One of the children, a young boy wrapped only in a towel, fled the riverbank in a panic. A driver who called 911 described him screaming “¡Mamá! ¡Mamá!” as he ran toward the nearby multilane road, clearly terrified.

In response to the tragedy, a relative named Brenda Raya launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover funeral expenses, transportation of the bodies and the immediate needs of the two orphaned children. “The emotional and financial burden is overwhelming,” she wrote, “and we want to honor the memory of our loved ones while providing for the children left behind.”

The drownings occurred near the O’Shaughnessy Reservoir, a city‑owned stretch of the Scioto that spans 18 miles of shoreline. Local regulations prohibit jet‑skis, tubing and swimming in the reservoir, but the river remains accessible for fishing.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources Lt. Heather Byers cautioned that rivers can be deceptively calm. “Even when the water looks still, you can be swept away in slow‑moving currents,” she explained. “You never know if you’re standing in two feet of water and suddenly find yourself in four or five feet, or if a hidden rock or slick algae will trip you.”

The incident underscores the risks that can lurk beneath seemingly peaceful waters, and the painful ripple effects felt by families on both sides of the border.