Scott Schwab Speaks on Tragic Death of Son at Water Park

Scott Schwab has spoken out on every parents’ worst nightmare:

The death of his child.

Last Sunday, 10-year old Caleb Schwab was killed while riding what has been deemed the world’s tallest water slide at Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

The structure stands 168 feet and seven inches tall.

It has been under controversy in the past for questionable safety regulations, with its opening delayed several years ago as a result.

Caleb was the son of Kansas lawmaker Scott Schwab, who has issued a new statement in response to the horrific tragedy.

“While we try to step forward into the new normal of life without Caleb in our presence, we find hope with the current investigation into the incident to provide answers and assurances that such tragedy will not strike again,” Schwab wrote.

Schwab was writing on behalf of his wife and three surviving sons.

They were all of at the water park that afternoon for a family outing and Schwab wanted to pass along their gratitude for the outpouring of support.

“Words will never convey the appreciation Michele, the boys, and I have for all those who expressed their love and support the last week and a half,” he wrote.

“‘Thank You’ seems so inadequate to express our appreciation, but it is the only phrase we have. So, from the depths of our hearts, we thank you.”

A couple days after Caleb’s passing, grisly details of his death were made public.

Officials, for instance, have confirmed that the boy was decapitated by the slide.

A witness named Esteban Castaneda explained to ABC News soon after the incident that he heard a “boom” emanating from the ride … and then he saw a raft come through with a “body” on it.

There were also two women on this raft and they were covered in blood.

“It looked like he must have somehow been ejected from his seat, bounced around between the netting and the slide and just slid down,” another onlooker told People Magazine.

“He would have fallen down without the raft. It’s kind of like a tube.”

The 168-foot water slide posed problems for the park early on. Its 2014 opening was twice delayed, on one occasion because rafts flew off and into the air.

A spokesperson for the water park says it is committed to finding “answers to the tragedy,” while a Schwab family attorney, Michael C. Rader, says park is cooperating with the investigation.

“I can say that my firm and I along with our team of experts are doing everything in our power to ensure that all questions surrounding the cause of this tragedy are fully answered,” Rader wrote in a statement.

Early last week, meanwhile, Scott Schwab and his wife responded to the death of this son as follows:

Since the day he was born, he brought abundant joy to our family and all those he came in contact with.

As we try to mend our home with him no longer with us, we are comforted knowing he believed in our Savior Jesus, and they are forever together now.

We will see him another day.

10-Year Old Decapitated in Water Slide Accident, Police Confirm

We have an update on the tragic story of Caleb Schwab.

As previously reported, Schwab was killed on Sunday while riding the Verruckt, a water slide at Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas.

The ride has been dubbed the World’s Tallest Water Slide in existence by the Guinness Book of World Records, with its name translating from German to mean “insane.”

Caleb was the 10-year old son of Kansas lawmaker Scott Schwab, who issued a heartfelt statement about his child soon after this horrific accident took place.

“Since the day he was born, he brought abundant joy to our family and all those he came in contact with,” wrote Scott and his wife, Michelle, adding:

“As we try to mend our home with him no longer with us, we are comforted knowing he believed in our Savior Jesus, and they are forever together now.

“We will see him another day.”

Now, two days after this tragedy, further details have emerged.

And they paint an extremely sad and grotesque picture.

Officials have confirmed that Caleb died from a fatal neck injury, with multiple outlets reporting the child was decapitated.

A witness named Esteban Castaneda  tells ABC News that he heard a “boom” coming from the ride and then saw a raft come through.

“Immediately after the raft … you see a body,” Castaneda said.

The ride typically holds two to three people per raft and Castaneda said two women were in this specific raft, with blood all over them.

Castaneda has not been interviewed by police.

But he said he started to run toward the situation when a lifeguard told him there was “nothing” he could do.

And that was when he saw Caleb’s body lying in the water at the base of the slide.

The two other women in his raft, who were not related to Caleb, suffered minor injuries, police said.

Since this horrible incident went viral, we’ve learned that Verruckt’s scheduled 2014 opening was delayed numerous times due to glitches, including one issue that caused water rafts to fly off the slide and into the air.

In this case, another witness (named Kelsey Friedrichsen, who was on her way up the slide when the commotion began below her) told People Magazine of Caleb’s death:

“It looked like he must have somehow been ejected from his seat, bounced around between the netting and the slide and just slid down.

“He would have fallen down without the raft. It’s kind of like a tube.”

Schlitterbahn officials say all rides are inspected daily prior to opening.

The Verrückt ride is closed, but the park is tentatively scheduled to reopen on Wednesday.

A memorial service for Caleb will be held Friday afternoon.

“We had many issues on the engineering side,” Jeff Henry, Verruckt creator and Schlitterbahn co-owner told USA Today, two years ago.

“A lot of our math was based on roller coasters at first, and that didn’t translate to a water slide like this. No one had ever done anything like this before…

“It’s dangerous, but it’s a safe dangerous now.

“Schlitterbahn is a family water park, but this isn’t a family ride. It’s for thrill seekers of the world, people into extreme adventure.”

Kansas Boy Dies on World"s Tallest Water Slide

Tragedy has struck a family in Kansas.

According to CBS affiliated KCTV, a 10-year old boy named Caleb Schwab died on Sunday after riding the Verruckt, a ride Schlitterbahn Water Park.

The name of the ride used the German word for “insane” in its title and the ride itself has been dubbed the World’s Tallest Water Slide by the Guinness Book of World Records.

The structure stands 168 feet and seven inches tall.

Police spokesman Officer Cameron Morgan confirmed the sad incident last night, but was unable to offer any details regarding Caleb’s passing.

The victim has been identified as the son of a Kansas lawmaker Scott Schwab, who released a statement with his wife Michele soon after the horrible news went public.

It reads as follows:

Michele and I want to thank the Olathe and Kansas City, Kansas communities and all of our friends and family for their outpouring of support and compassion as it relates to the sudden loss of our son, Caleb Thomas Schwab.

Since the day he was born, he brought abundant joy to our family and all those he came in contact with. As we try to mend our home with him no longer with us, we are comforted knowing he believed in our Savior Jesus, and they are forever together now.

We will see him another day.

Your continued prayers are welcome and appreciated. We appreciate your understanding of our family’s need for privacy during this difficult time of grieving.

Here is a look at the slide in question:

House Speaker Ray Merrick told The Kansas City Star that Schwab’s family was “the center of his world.”

In a press conference on Sunday afternoon, a spokeswoman for the water park said the park’s rides are inspected every day and are checked by independent inspection agencies at the start of the season.

In a subsequent Tweet, Police Chief Terry Zeigler referred to the death as an accident.

Water park officials say Schlitterbahn will be closed Monday, while the Verrückt will remain closed pending a complete investigation.

The official website for the park says riders of the slide are “blasted up a second massive hill and then sent down yet another gut wrenching 50 foot drop for the ultimate in water slide thrills” after the initial ascent.

The website adds that the two to three riders per raft must have a combined weight between 400 and 550 pounds and all riders must also be at least 54 inches tall.

We send our condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of Caleb during this impossible time.

Pokemon GO Player Walks Right Into Body of Water

Note to anyone playing Pokemon GO:

Stop playing Pokemon GO. Seriously.

But if you refuse to heed this piece of advice, at least follow the words of wisdom below:

Stop playing Pokemon GO while walking anywhere near a body of water.

In the following video, some dude is obsessed with this app, staring into his phone and talking to those around him.

He"s on the search for animated creatures that sort of exist in the real world (that"s the most in-depth understand we"re willing to have of Pokemon GO) when… oops!

He walks right into lots of wet stuff!

“Holy sh-t, I didn’t know that was water,” says the man. “That was funny.”

Sure, yes. Funny. That"s one word for it.

There was also this instance of a weatherman having his report interrupted by a colleague playing the game…

… and this admission by a 27-year old that Pokemon GO has caused her to question her entire life.

We can see how it can have that effect on people.

Watch this idiot walk into a lake now:

Girl Learns Lesson About Water Pressure... The Hard Way

Do not blame us for the following video.

We were not on the premises when it was filmed.

Would we have stepped in if we were?

Would we have prevented this young girl from making a potentially grave mistake? We"d like to think so.

But consider: the girl"s very own mother is the one filming… and she does nothing at all!

"That"s not gonna be a good idea…I should stop you," we hear from the woman, through fits of laughter, as the child puts the nozzle of a hose to her mouth.

You can see where this is going, can"t you?

But we can"t turn away! We just can"t!

And in the end, hey… the adorable toddler learns a valuable lesson about water pressure.

Check out the hilarious footage for yourself:

Disney World Tragedy: Little Boy Dragged Into Water By Alligator

At around 9:00 p.m. ET, a Nebraska couple watch their two-year-old son wade in the shallows of Walt Disney World’s Seven Seas Lagoon at the Grand Floridian Hotel.

All of a sudden, the boy was snatched up by an alligator and dragged into the water.

“The father entered the water, and he tried to grab the child, but was not successful in doing so,” Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings told reporters during a press conference today.

The mother also went into the water to try and save her son.

The couple, who brought their 4-year-old daughter on the trip, alerted a nearby lifeguard who then called 911.

The father suffered only scratches while trying to remove the boy from the alligator’s jaw.

“They [alligators] were probably attracted to some motion on the bank,” executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Nick Wiley explained, according to USA Today.

“That’s the way they stalk their prey.”

Wiley added that the alligator could have mistaken the child for prey, as the reptile was likely feeding.

The lake is being searched by wildlife specialists, divers and a trained alligator trapper.  Four alligators have been removed, but no traces of the child were found.

Demings told reporters this morning that this was still considered a “search and rescue operation,” adding that he and all though involved in looking for the boy were “very hopeful.

“Sometimes you get the worst, but we are hoping for the best,” he said.

As the search continued, Demings changed his tune.

The sad reality of it is it’s been several hours, and we’re not likely going to recover a live body,” he said, according to CNN.

No Swimming signs are posted to all beach areas of the land-locked resort, which has never had an accident like this.

Wait, What?! The Martian Director Says He Knew About Water On Mars "Months Ago" — Did NASA Hold Out For Publicity?

Uhm, come again?

Yesterday brought HUGE news as NASA announced that they could finally confirm there was liquid water on the surface of Mars.

When the news broke, there were several people who believed that NASA knew about this for a while and they were just waiting for the most opportune moment to release their findings.

Photos: Water On Mars Gives These 18 Celebs Who Believe In Aliens A Little More Hope!

This theory is backed up by the fact that that Matt Damon‘s upcoming sci-fi flick The Martian — about an astronaut stranded on Mars — hits theaters Friday!

This was just too much of a coincidence for many people and the director of the movie, Ridley Scott, didn’t help this theory when he revealed:

“I knew that months ago.”

Wha??

Scott went on to say:

“When I first talked to NASA, we got into all kinds of stuff and I said, ‘So I know you’ve got down there [these] massive glaciers.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, that the massive white thing [on the surface of Mars] that gets covered with dust, we think that’s ice.’ And I said, ‘Wow! Does that mean there was an ocean?’ Are we right now what Mars was 750 million years ago?’ And they went, ‘Uh, good question.’ So they want to go up there and find out.”

Unfortunately for the 77-year-old, he didn’t find out about the water on Mars until after the film had gone into production. When asked if it would have changed some of the story, he said:

“[Damon’s astronaut] would’ve found the edge of a glacier, definitely. It would be fascinating,” said Scott. “But then I would’ve lost a great sequence. He has to make water, and the steaming device, and put up the plastic tents, which creates the humidity, which grows the plants, which is the most basic form of irrigation.”

We wonder how long NASA actually knew about this! What else are they keeping from us?! Conspiracy theory time!

What do you think? Are you surprised that this information was kept secret until they could generate a little more press for the space program by releasing it before The Martian?

[Image via Dominic Chan/WENN20th Century Fox.]

NASA Confirms Water On Mars! Good News For These 18 Celebs Who Believe In Aliens!

According to new research published Monday, NASA believes they can confirm that there’s salt water on Mars — which means there could be life on the Red Planet!

Wonderful! That means we could totally send an expedition to meet the aliens soon, right?!

OK maybe not yet, but there are lots of celebrities who are adamant we’re not alone in the universe, like Aaron Paul, who tweeted:

Dear @NASA Now that you have found liquid salt water on mars do you think it’s possible for me to come play with the aliens soon? #asknasa
— Aaron Paul (@aaronpaul_8) September 28, 2015

So in honor of the historic find, we thought it’d be a great time to review which celebs — like Demi Lovato — are down for extraterrestrial party time!

CLICK HERE to view the gallery “18 Celebrities Who Believe In Aliens!”

CLICK HERE to view the gallery “18 Celebrities Who Believe In Aliens!”

CLICK HERE to view the gallery “18 Celebrities Who Believe In Aliens!”
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CLICK HERE to view the gallery “18 Celebrities Who Believe In Aliens!”

CLICK HERE to view the gallery “18 Celebrities Who Believe In Aliens!”