Lake Burke

Lake Burke is a 218-acre artificial lake in Fairfax Station created by damming the South Run just below where it is joined by the Opossum Branch.

Although the lake is wholly surrounded by the Fairfax County Park Authority's Burke Lake Park, the lake itself is owned and managed by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

Incidents

On June 2, 1963, 27-year-old Marine sergeant Donald Welch became the first person to drown in the newly-opened lake when he fell out of his boat.[1]

On August 23, 1964, 17-year-old Ballard R. Harris drowned in the lake while swimming to recover an oar from an overturned rowboat.[2]

On March 26, 1977, 27-year-old George Mason University student Sylvester W. Ogu drowned in the lake when the boat he was in capsized.[3]

On June 17, 1987, 17-year-old Fairfax High School student Chong Hwan Pak drowned while swimming between boats in the lake.[4][5]

On August 25, 2017, 70-year-old James Peith drowned in the lake when the canoe he was riding in capsized.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Marine Sergeant, 27, Drowns in Fairfax." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): 1. Jun 04 1963. ProQuest. Web. 14 Aug. 2016 .
  2. ↑ "Youth Retrieving an Oar Drowns in Burke Lake." The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973): 1. Aug 25 1964. ProQuest. Web. 14 Aug. 2016.
  3. ↑ "Boat Overturns in Burke Lake, Student Drowns." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 23. Mar 27 1977. ProQuest. Web. 14 Aug. 2016.
  4. ↑ Richardson, Lynda. "Boating Youth, 17, Apparently Drowns in Burke Lake." The Washington Post (1974-Current file): 94. Jun 18 1987. ProQuest. Web. 14 Aug. 2016.
  5. ↑ "Swimmer's Body Recovered." The Washington Post (pre-1997 Fulltext): c03. Jun 19 1987. ProQuest. Web. 14 Aug. 2016.
  6. ↑ FCPD Media Relations Bureau. "Body Recovered From Lake After Canoe Capsizes at Burke Lake Park." Fairfax County Police Department News. Fairfax County Police Department, 25 Aug. 2017. Web. 26 Aug. 2017.

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