While the details on exactly how Nick Fangman’s dive went wrong Monday are still sketchy, both his identity and information about the 20-year-old have come to light.
Fangman was the son of a Cincinnati police officer and recently enlisted in the military. He was scheduled to ship off to boot camp in August. Fangman's father Paul was in the Cleveland area at a Fraternal Order of Police convention when he learned of the tragedy. A Cleveland TV news helicopter flew him to Dayton, where the Shelby County Sheriff's Office chopper got him to St. Paul.
Fangman died Monday at White Rock Park in St. Paul when he attempted a back flip from a platform 40 feet above the warm, calm water that fills the quarry. It is estimated he jumped into a depth of 20 feet.
“He didn’t hit the rocks because he was able to jump out far enough,” said St. Paul Town Marshal Chris Vierling. “At first, nobody realized anything was wrong. Several of his friends jumped from the same spot right after he did.”
After a few minutes the group of friends realized something went terribly wrong and phoned police. A swimmer visiting the park and a volunteer firefighter quickly jumped into the water but were unable to get to the bottom of the lake without SCUBA gear. Realizing Fangman had been in too long by the time they got the call and arrived at the park, local police called in divers from Shelbyville to undertake a recovery mission. At 7:45 p.m., approximately two hours after Fangman dove in, his body was recovered by those divers.
“A report will be filed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, myself and the Decatur County Sheriff’s Department,” Vierling said. “After that, we’ll be waiting for a report from the Coroner’s office.”
Vierling, Deputy Dave Henderson and Sgt. Brian McCullough kept a close eye on Fangman’s friends and tried to comfort them in any way they could. They also collected names and contact numbers so they could follow up for investigation purposes.
Vierling said their was an indication from some in Fangman’s group that the young people had been consuming alcohol, but it was unclear if Fangman was one of them. There are signs on the platform he dove from prohibiting alcohol on the overhang.
“They don’t allow alcohol on the platform because of the extreme height,” Vierling said. “There is always a potential for drowning when diving from 40 feet.”
Vierling said Monday’s incident was not an isolated one. Unfortunately, tragedy seems to have found a home at White Rock.
“We get 175 to 250 visitors on the weekend,” Vierling said of the private park. “It seems we have one major incident or accident each year. They come from fights, people over exerting themselves in the water, partying too much or hurting themselves diving. It is not unusual for us to face a death there.”
White Rock lies on South Countyline Road just south of St. Paul in Decatur County.
The park lies right on the border between Shelby and Decatur counties. This allowed many agencies, nearly 10 in all, to help out.
“Everyone pitched in and did so in a very timely manner,” Vierling said. “It was great that so many agencies were willing to help. Nobody had a problem crossing the magical border line between counties. A situation likes this takes the services of several departments and I thank all of them for their mutual aid. They use common sense for the common good and I’m grateful for that.”
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