Family Of Man Drowned At Lake Thunderbird Shares Their Story

The mother of a man who drowned at Lake Thunderbird is opening up about her loss.

Michael Thomas drowned over the busy 4th of July weekend and the mother said she almost lost two of her sons in one instant. Thomas was swimming across the lake when he started struggling 100 feet from shore.

Shari, 2, and Jeannie, 4, will only see their daddy's face in pictures from now on.

“I'm shocked still, I still can't believe it happened,” said Faye Springer, Thomas’ mother.

Thomas got into trouble swimming across the cove on the eastern side of the lake.

“He was almost there to the other side and he went down and my other son went over there and tried to go help him,” explained Springer. “He went down and never came back up.”

7/11/2014 Related Story: Memorial Service Held For Lake Thunderbird Drowning Victim

Michael's brother, James, tried to save Michael, but he also began to have problems. A group of people on shore, including an off-duty nurse, saved James and he was taken to the hospital.

“He was crying and telling me that he tried to save him, that he wished he would have been in better shape so he could have saved him because he didn't and I told him it wasn't his fault,” Springer told News 9.

Springer said Thomas was not the best swimmer, but he could swim. She called him “Mikey” and said he was sweet, outgoing and adored his girls. Springer wants others to think twice before going into deep water.

“How I'm going to miss him because he's the one who always kept me on my toes,” she sobbed.

The family had a memorial service for Thomas on Friday. He leaves behind his two daughters, and his girlfriend was expecting a child.

7/6/2014 Related Story: Officials Recover Body From Lake Thunderbird