Sand Springs Installs Memorial Bench For 4-Year-Old Drowning Victim

A grieving Sand Springs family has helped establish a small memorial to their son, in a park, near where he drowned in the Arkansas River.

Four year old Bentley Burkhalter slipped away in the current while playing at the river with his father and seven year old brother July 15.

The Burkhalter family and their friends gathered at Case Community Park Thursday, on what would have been Bentley’s 5th birthday.

There, a bench has become a focal point for the family, overlooking sand bars in the river where rescuers found Bentley, after a night of searching.

Bentley’s mom, Jami, said, “This was just last summer, we were just here, all of us together.”

The Burkhalters wanted this spot to have another meaning besides grief. Jami chose joy.

“I can't be sad, this is awesome, how can I be sad when this is so amazing?” she said, after a memorial bench for Bentley was revealed.

The bench is near a playground where Bentley and his older brother Branson loved to play.

“Hopefully we can make it a special day for them, that they can start the next chapter of their lives,” said Jef Edwards, the Parks Director for Sand Springs.

“If my son's presence is here, and I'm sure it is, I can feel it, it's to know that life is short, live it to the fullest, and just look at the view and know that God is good,” said Jami.