Glynn County GaArchives Obituaries.....SPEAKMAN, Hester May 23, 1969 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Amy Hedrick http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00028.html#0006759 January 15, 2010, 7:18 pm The Brunswick News; Monday 26 May 1969; pg. 8 col. 1 & pg. 3 col. 6 Double Drowning—Risley Outing By Senior Class Has Tragic End A beach outing at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, for 43 senior students from Risley High School, ended in tragedy Friday with the drowning of two students. The sheriff’s office at Bluffton, S.C., confirmed recovery of the body of Hester Speakman of Sterling, but has listed Melvin Lane of St. Simons Island as missing and presumed drowned. Miss Speakman resided with her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. William Speakman of Sterling. Lane is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Dave Lane, of 508 Gordon Retreat, St. Simons. The outing, which was not a school sponsored trip, left by chartered bus Friday morning for a day of swimming and picnicking at the South Carolina resort. Adrian Johnson, senior advisor and sociology teacher at the school was chaperone for the trip. Johnson related that the students were counseled after lunch to remember that they were to swim and hike in groups and not alone or in couples. At approximately 1:30 p.m. a student reported to Johnson that the Speakman girl and the Lane boy were seen swimming with a third student, but that the third student had left them and returned to shore. After locating the third student, Johnson discovered that the boy had not seen the two since he left them in the water. A search was started and the beach and water area were combed in an effort to locate the two missing students. The sheriff’s department at Bluffton, which serves Hilton Head, was notified and it took over the search. Johnson, in an interview today said, “We have made this trip several years, without any problems.” He speculated that the students were caught in a strong current since the tide was coming in. Johnson was perplexed at their inability to handle such a situation, since both students were reported to be strong swimmers. He went on to remark that “in that area when the tide is coming in an undercurrent often crosses below the surface.” He commented that this set of circumstances could have caused the Speakman girl to panic. Johnson was visibly upset as he spoke of the incident. He had a close relationship with the two students, who were members of his home room class. The South Carolina sheriff was unavailable for additional information, but had contacted Risley Principal W.C. McNeely today to confirm recovery of the Speakman girl’s body, and report that the Lane boy is still the object of an extensive search. The Brunswick News; Tuesday 27 May 1969; pg. 12 col. 4 BODY OF DROWNED STUDENT IS FOUND AT S.C. RESORT The body of Melvin Lane, student at Risley High School, who drowned Saturday during an outing at Hilton Head, Island, S.C., was located early Monday, according to South Carolina authorities. Lane, 18, of St. Simons Island, and Hester Speakman, 18, of Sterling, both senior(s) at Risley, drowned around noon Saturday while on an outing with 41 classmates. Miss Speakman’s body was found by authorities late that afternoon. The outing, which was not a school-sponsored trip, left by chartered bus early Saturday for a day of swimming and picnicking at the South Carolina resort. Adrian Johnson, senior advisor and sociology teacher at the school, said that the students were counseled to swim or hike in groups, but not alone or in couples. A third student was reportedly in the water with Lane and Miss Speakman, but left them alone, later saying they had not seemed to be in any trouble. The search for the bodies was conducted by the office of the sheriff of Bluffton, S.C., which serves the Hilton Head area. Additional Comments: More Glynn County Genealogy & History can be found at File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/glynn/obits/s/speakman9735gob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 4.3 Kb