Janessa Toney

Janessa Lyn Toney

January 4, 2003 - September 28, 2008

Age: 5 years old 

The Toney family owned an 18-foot pleasure craft. On September 27, 2008, the large group set off sailed on Lake Newell near Brooks, southeast of Calgary. Their boat hit a rock at around 5 p.m., damaging the propeller. Janessa’s father, Allen, tried to repair the boat unsuccessfully and later called 911 for assistance. While they waited for help to arrive, their boat drifted to the southern shore of the lake around 7 p.m.  A fish and wildlife office, a RCMP constable and a peace officer found the family struggling on the boat. They attempted to help.

Sadly, soon after, it capsized, dumping the Fish and Wildlife officer, the RCMP constable, the peace officer and the family of five into the water, and trapping five-year-old Janessa underneath. Her cries for her parents and screams could be heard for hours as the boat drifted on the lake. All attempts to save Janessa from under the boat failed as she and boat carried on floating down the river. Janessa died from drowning alone, freezing, trapped under the boat in the darkness as the boat floated down the river. The boat wasn’t towed to shore until the next morning, at which point Janessa was discovered. She was taken to Foothills Hospital in Calgary, where she was pronounced dead by drowning.