Memorials honor boy who drowned in Lacamas Lake

Friends and family of Anthony Huynh have created two memorials on and near the Camas pedestrian bridge spanning Lacamas Lake.

Balloons, flowers, photos and messages of love remember the 14-year-old Vancouver boy, who drowned in Lacamas Lake on Aug. 20.

“I don’t have the words,” one of Huynh’s friends wrote on a cut-out of the letter “A” at a memorial located close to the banks of Lacamas Lake, on the south side of the pedestrian bridge. “You were such a good person and I’m so sorry your life was cut short. … I miss you so much and I just want 5 minutes with (you), that’s all I’m asking. I love you, Anthony.”

Other friends left candles, artwork and stuffed animals. One piece of art portrayed clouds and a golden sunset with the words, “Fly High, AH.”

Camas police said Huynh had been playing in the lake with five friends last Tuesday afternoon — swimming in the water and jumping from the new pedestrian bridge, which sits about 10 feet over the lake — when he became separated from the group.

According to police, Huynh’s friends thought he had wandered off or was maybe playing a prank on them. The boys searched for Huynh for nearly an hour before calling 911 for help, police said.

Divers located the boy’s body in the lake later that evening.

Huynh would have started his freshman year at Union High School this week.

A GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign to help Huynh’s family pay for funeral costs raised more than $13,000 in five days.