Witness describes search for Utah State University athlete Andre Seldon Jr.
Jul 21, 2024, 10:31 PM | Updated: 10:38 pm
LOGAN — What was supposed to be a fun day on the water turned into tragedy Saturday at Porcupine Reservoir in Cache County.
“(I have) been going there for a while, me and a group of friends got together,” said Phillip Perez of Logan.
Perez and his friends were hoping to spending the afternoon on the water on what was another hot day.
“We just started heading out toward the cliffs and then about halfway there, that’s when we just heard everyone screaming, ‘call 911,'” Perez said.
He was one of multiple people who tried to find the victim’s body.
“We swam over a little as quick as we could try to see what was going on. People were already diving in the water because they said that somebody had jumped in and (had) come up, but it was for a second like they were treading water and then went back down.”
Perez later learned the victim was Andre Seldron Jr., a football player at Utah State University. The Cache County Sheriff’s Office said Seldon had jumped off a cliff and never resurfaced.
“We just jumped in a couple of times just to see if we could see anything, (the water) was really murky,” Perez said.
Body recovered
Officials said Seldon’s body was recovered just after 9 p.m. Saturday.
Seldon had just joined the program at Utah State after transferring from New Mexico State, where he played under USU interim head coach Nate Dreiling.
“I just send love to his family that’s all I could think about when I was on the water,” Perez said.
While Perez doesn’t want to speculate, he said there was an undercurrent which could have contributed to the incident.
“Just because there’s no waves (it) doesn’t mean it’s not there,” he said.
Perez however is hoping safety officials can add signage with information for those recreating or add rescue crews on site. He said it took first responders “a while” to get to the reservoir.
He’s urging others to be cautious this summer to hopefully prevent another tragedy.
“Throw on a life vest and make sure that you’re safe and you know (if) your loved ones are visiting make sure that they’re safe no matter what,” Perez said.
