Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Lake Piru, CA – Divers from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department were in route to Lake Piru to search for a missing adult.
The 39-year-old Yingerman Naftoli (Anatoly) Smolyansky from Los Angeles, came for a summer outing to Lake Piru in Ventura County, while on the boat with his 3 children, he jumped over to save one of his children that fell overboard into the water, the child he saved and got back into the boat but he couldn’t make it back in the boat and was never seen again, he is now listed as missing and the children, ages 9, 7 and 5, are not harmed.
LA County Fire Department have mobilized their search and rescue team and the search is continuing at this hour.
LA Hatzolah and numerous volunteers from the Los Angeles Kehilla including a large contingent from Bais Medresh Sharei Torah have responded to the area and are assisting with the search.
The search is concentrated on the north end of the lake, in an area known as “the narrows.”
Authorities say that the man’s wife told rangers at the lake that her husband and child had failed to return from a boating trip on the lake. The child was eventually located.
U/D:
The search operation which includes a helicopter and Jet Skis along with several swimmers and divers, shifted to recovery mode.
U/D: 02:14
The Lake Piru Command Center has just approved the search by volunteers, LA Hatzolah is asking as many people as can come, to help out at the scene.
U/D: 07:56pm
Search is still going on with about 80 volunteers on the scene and more on the way.
U/D: 08/27/08 2:00pm
The search is still going on with tremendous outpouring of help from the immediate community, and from people from all over the entire globe.
LA Hatzolah is on the ground and in the water with about 30 members searching for the R’ Naftula, also are they in the air aboard 3 helicopters to keep up the search from above.
Volunteers are very helpful, and who ever could come to the scene to help out is very much appreciated.
And last but not least it is unbelievable the tremendous effort the local emergency response teams are putting into this search and with organizing all the volunteers who are there to help.
Please bring the following
Hiking shoes.
Binoculars.
Hat (sun is strong).
Flashlight with batteries.
If u can join with others who are going instead of taking your own car , please do so.
Please be mispallel for Naftoli ben Anna.
LA Hatzolah is on the scene. Please say thilim. We will update when we have news.
Name? So we could daven.
Please say Tehilim for Naftoli (Smolyansky) ben Chana, who is reported lost while boating with his family in lake Piro near LA
Any new Update?
I hope this will turn out as good,
as the Reb. Yankel Solomon search….
any update?
the man went into the water when his son fell in and couldnt get back in the boat. he got his son into the boat, but couldn’t get back in himself. please say tehillim for him: naftoli ben anna
Hatzolah Los Angeles, numerous volunteers and the sheriff’s department searched till midnight. they will resume searching at 5 a.m.
Please never venture alone with a boat, always go with a minimum of two boats, stay away from areas that phones don’t work, and finally always wear a life jacket.
I used to go boating on the Deleware River, but since many have lost their lifes in the Delaware, I have stoped and found other options….
The family was on an outing on the boat, the children were wearing Life Jackets. Their 5 y/o fell overboard, and the boat was drifting away from her. The Victim, jumped in, fully clothed to rescue his daughter, he reached her, and dragged her back to the boat, but R”L he didn’t have enough strength to make it back in to the boat.
He told his daughter, i am not going to make it, I am going under”, and the kids watched him slip under the water.
A fisherman saw the boat with 3 kids screaming alone in the middle of the lake, and reported it to the fishing shop, who notified the Rangers.
Hatzolah had 50 or more members on scene, as well as many many community members, it was a big kiddush Hashem.
Hatzolah has an Ambulance on scene throughout the night, and will resume searching in the morning.
So the children were wearing life jackets but the father wasn’t? How terrible! All adults must wear life jackets at all times no matter what!! This is a matter of life and death.
Are there not regulations that require ALL boaters to wear life vests? I thought it was mandatory.
R”L How terribly tragic and scary. We can only hope for a nes. It would be a good minhag to give tzdoko before leaving the house, and carry a little pushka in pocketbooks etc.
from what i understand La- Hatzolah has a scuba certified diver as well who can help the searches as well
would anybody explain how the kids made it back to shore without their father. were they able to drive it back themselves or was their mother there?
Rachmanah Yatzilainu!
What is the mother name anna or chana?
wHICH CHILD FELL IN HE WATER HIS SON OR DAUGTHER
This is beyond horrible! They are the nicest people!
Please, whoever is reading this post regularly, PLEASE POST UPDATES. Naftoli is my close friend and the purest neshama. He NEEDS all of our davening and Hashem’s rachmana. PLEASE POST UPDATES!!!! Good or ____. Please.
A fisherman found the boat with three unattended screaming children and notified the Sherrif. The mother had also notified the Sherrif that her husband and kids had not made it back.
The authorities ask that noone else go to the lake. It is not helpful.
rabboissai what a tragedy!!!!!!!!!!! hashem the glass has over flown way too much with yiddishe tzorus please send moshiach already we cant take it no more…………
and for all those posts that have no feelings for other yidden please dont post…… i am referring to always wear life jackets, why wasnt he wearing a life jacket? do u really think in your clever statement that the family needs to hear this right now please have some feelings my gosh there are always these people that dont know what and when to say things……….
we should only hear bsirus toivis !!!!!!!!
May Hashem send a yeshuau b’karov! AMEN!
I don’t think the family is reading this post. Anyway , please daven and cry. Crying breaks open the gates…
What a sad story. We do have to give a hodoah to hashem that the kids stayed in the boat and did not go in for their father and chas vsholom make it even worse.
how terrible, dont blast him for not wearing a lifevest . the fact of the matter is that their is a mising yid
They are now asking again for as many people as possible to go. Carpool if you can. Bring nec equipment.
This is not about life jackets. This is about crying out to Hashem — now.
Ladies & Gentlemen,
Now is not the time to criticize or question the use of life jackets, snorkels, oars or sails. Now is the time to help this man and his family. We can figure out the rest of this other stuff later. Naftoli is a dear, dear friend and needs our tefillos. Please daven for him and his family…
i can only imagine whats in this poor kids minds now, they watched their beloved father struggling… OMG how sad, i give up now.
Basic warning – whether you have a flotation device or not – it doesn’t help if you don’t know boat safety or how to swim or float or tread water – even what looks like calm water can have strange currents.
Please people if you don’t know above STAY OUT OF THE WATER.
Hakol biday shomayim.
I pray that he simply was washed elsewhere and is ok.
this story has brought tears to my eyes. i pray for the family and the father that a neis occurs.
i cant imagine the pain that the family is going through.
mi bamayim umi baish….
I get the shivers thinking we’ll be davening unesane tokef in just a few weeks.
May no one in Klal yisroel be subject to such tzaros
Noone should be subject to such tzaros.
do they still want additional volunteers to go to lake piru to assist the search?
is there any updates? my heart goes out for the wife and children and family members… oy gevald hashem please please take us out from this bittere gulus it is so long already inz kinder cant take it no more way too much tzurus……. this past couple of weeks alone we had way too much… i dont know about you all but i just cant bear no more all this tzaar hashem send moshiach already…. oy reb levi yitzchak ben sarah sosha beg by the kisaie hakuvid on behalf of us all………. there should be no more tzaar and there should be only simchas and yeshias irefias in klal yisroel..
i apologize for getting carried away but this is my broken heart speaking out….. and bezras hashem we should hear a great outcome…..
Yes they still want people to go. Just be careful and try to go with others.
Do they still need volunteers?????? anybody has an update?
B”H My heart goes out to family members who are waiting for news. As a former lifeguard, I am very sad that this family did not have boating safety knowledge. I hope everyone takes note of the importance of water safety info. I pray for a miracle today for this family.
LA Hatzolah keep up the good work and dont give up. LA-208 great job May Hashem help you all find him.
HASHEM SHOULD HELP THIS WOMAN AND HER CHILDREN THAT ALL SHOULD END WELL EY”H. SINCE I AM IN THE MIDST OF READING THIS EXCELLENT BOOK “JUST ONE WORD ” AMEN– I WAS SO INSPIRED TO DO SOMETHING PERTAINING TO AMEN- AND A YESHUA FOR THIS YID. SO I STARTED A CHAIN CALL ASKING PEOPLE TO RECITE AT LEAST ONE BRUCHAH LOUDLY AND SOMEONE TO ANSWER AMEN- AND IN THIS ZECHUS HASHEM SHOULD HELP THAT NAFTULI BEN CHANA SHOULD BE FOUND. SO LEAVE YOUR NEGATIVITIES BEHIND AND DO SOMETHING BENEFICIAL. AMEN!!!
search is still going on with appox 80 of our own
LA-CHEVRA
more have said they are going up after 4:00PM
IF ANYONE IS STILL GOING UP THEY REQUESTED
COLD DRINKS, SANDWICHES, DANISHES
IT WAS VERY HOT DAY & NO STORES AROUND THAT AREA
JUST ONE SMALL SHOP THAT RAN OUT OF DRINKS
PLEASE LET US KNOW IF U CAN GET WHATEVER YOU CAN
AT ANY OF THE LOCAL STORES
I WILL ACCEPT THE RESPONSIBILITY SO YOU DONT HAVE TO PAY FOR IT
IF ANYONE WANTS JUST TO GO FOR THE DELIVERY
I AM WILLING TO PAY FOR YOUR SERVICE
PLEASE CALL ME ASAP SO I CAN ORDER SOME FOOD FOR THEM
323-816-8880
HILLY
The name is Naftoli ben Anna
La-44 aryah fridman we did serch class together plese find this yid La-44 dont give up keep on the good work you will find him
yes aryay was a y unit y-38 keep up the good work
What time does the search go till?
If nothing found today, does it resume tomorrow and what time?
I think it will go until 9pm.
They are bringing in more divers from LA county tomorrow. They will call off the search at sunset today, they feel it is simply too dangerous to search at night. The county rescue people think he is in the water. The volunteers have been searching the perimeter of the lake, looking if he washed up on shore.
We should here besuros toivos and no more tzar in klal yisroel.
Maybe he was wearing a life jacket and got caught in the torrent… We need to daven that’s it.
Search shut down for the night. Daven that we should be successful tomorrow.
In the z’chus of Naftali Ben Anna, now at the doorway of Ellul, let us take to heart the message HaSehem is sending us to do Tshuvah. HaShem is showing how fragile our existence is, how tzar can be upon us K’heref Ayin’ – one moment enjoying a family gathering – a moment later heartrending tzoros. Perhaps if we are mekabel on ourselves to see in this not an issue of boating safety, but of Yad HaShem it will be a zchus for Naftali as the shliach HaShem. How can we not tremble for ourselves as parents, for our children, and for all yidden with Yom haDin so close. Tefilla Tzadaka and Tshuvah are ‘mavirin es roah hagezaeirah’!!!
this is happening almost exactly two years since eli horowitz z”l went missing in canada. also the monday one week before school started. also with three children. please daven that the answer comes very soon, not after almost one whole year of waiting, like in that case.