Two Holcombe
girls drown at
Cornell beach

Two rural Holcombe girls drowned Sunday in the Chippewa River at Cornell.  Sharon Ann Svoma, 11, and Kathleen Diane Anders, 12, drowned while swimming at a crowded beach in Brunet Island State Park.

Sharon's parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Svoma of Rt. 2, Holcombe checked with the lifeguards about Sharon's whereabouts at 2:30 p.m. and were advised to see if she was anywhere else in the park.

HER BODY was discovered when a swimmer bumped into it at about 3:45 p.m. and a search was begun for the other girl by the lifeguards.

Her body was discovered in about eight to ten feet of water near the boundary rope about 45 minutes later.

No one at the beach, which was very crowded at the time, had seen the girls go under or heard any commotion.  It was theorized that one of the girls may have strayed into deep water and that when the other one went to her assistance both were drowned.