Bay County drowning victim identified

CALLAWAY - At the tiki hut, inside Cook Bayou Marina, people belly up to the bar and swap fishing stories over cold beverages.

In English, please.

"Nobody up here speaks Spanish," said a young blond-haired woman who declined to give her name Sunday afternoon when approached by a reporter.

Cooks Bayou, by most accounts, is a quiet community tucked away between the sawgrass and the pine trees in southeastern Bay County.

In the waters not far from the marina, a young Hispanic man lost his life Saturday night.

"It's just unfortunate," said Len Carroll, the marina proprietor.

Cook Bayou Marina, Carroll said, is a "neighborhood place."

"This is where neighbors come," he said.

The Bay County Sheriff's Office is reporting the drowning victim to be 20-year-old Keny Alexander Carvajal Garcia of nearby Allanton Road. According to the Sheriff's Office, Garcia, after a few drinks, joined others for a swim in the bayou.

"It wasn't like they were binge drinking," Carroll said. "They were not too drunk to be in the water."

Shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday, the Sheriff's Office received a call in reference to a drowning. Teams from several emergency medical services and area law enforcement responded to the marshy area just off Old Bicycle Road.

Garcia's body was discovered a couple hours later.

"It had to have been an accidental drowning," Carroll said.

Authorities initially reported the deceased was a Guatemalan, living in Bay County on a work visa.

Carroll said a group of Hispanic males, employed at the Allanton shipyard, often patronize the tiki hut.

"They can say beer," Carroll said. "They can communicate what they need to."

An investigator with the Sheriff's Office attempted to speak with some of the Hispanic males who were swimming with Garcia on Saturday, but was unable to get any information.

A woman, identified by police as Clarie, also was swimming in the bayou and became distressed. The woman was pulled from the water by a transient and transported to Bay Medical Center for further evaluation, according to police reports.

The incident has left Carroll with publicity he does not seek and a lot of speculation.

"The water is so shallow out there," he said. "It's only about 4 feet deep. It was low tide, and the tide was going out. The only thing I can figure is they got caught in the current. The current is pretty strong."