I am the mother of Nick Harbison and just want to comment that this is still an ongoing investigation and that we still have no for sure answers. They have had four electrical engineers on this and they tell me that there are electrical lines that run across the lake. One that runs underneath the lake . I have been informed that one for sure and possibly a second of the lines has leakage. What this all means,i dont know. My only hope is to know what happened so we can have some kind of closure, and that it doesn't happen to anyone else.

I'm sorry for your loss and I pray that God gives you and your family the strength to cope with the loss of your son.

I'm trying to picture what happens when a body of water is electrified. Water conducts better than the human body, and there is a great deal of water, so it seems that there must be an enormous amount of power at the source to kill like this. Does the voltage drop off very quickly? Is that why the electricity is so lethal? I am interested in the math.

Sorry about the kid that got electrocuted but where in the heck is De Soto? There is a community just south of Memphis,DeSoto County and there is a DeSoto High School there but I suspect that it is not the same DeSoto or I would have heard this on the local news.

Thanks, Shawn Nichols.

It is always tragic when someone loses a life from what was probably a faulty electrical instalation. Although some electricians do not understand why these rules exist they do exist for a reason and the engineering does not have to be explained to just follow the rules. I will share a personal finding that some manufacture gfci receptacles do not work properly when they are not grounded properly without going into the boring details I have found this to be true I will explain in detail if you contact me but I hope this post could someday save a life by making all electrical equipment properly grounded and gfci protected

Mike,

I have a photograph of a suspended ceiing t - rail ran through a junction box containing the connections for an exit sign. If the wire inside the box ever chaffed or had been stripped of its outer coating the entire ceiling grid and bonded duct work would have caused severe consequences to an individual.

As I continue, as a capital project engineering manager, I am finding alot of work by a mirad of trades that is not performed to code and also warrants a citation for gross negligence.

Please let me know how I can e-mail these photos to your attention.

Salt water such as human blood will be more conductive than fresh water.

I have also received a nasty electric shock by picking up a 1.5 volt D cell by the ends. Back when I was a kid I would play with my electrical stuff for hours without washing my hands. This would allow enough perspiration salts to build up to make 1.5 volts hurt. Since then I do frequent hand washing which in actuality increases skin resistance. Looking at it another way, any voltage that is hot enough to light a light bulbs is a dangerous voltage under the right er I mean wrong cicumstances.

Mike Cole mc5w at earthlink dot net

First, it is a tragic event when a life is lost, so let us all learn from the event. Now, to the subject. Very little data was provided, but the article did say that the boys felt the electric current in the water as they came coser to the ladder. The question of current flow in water has also been asked. I recall doing experiments in high voltage lab in college. We inserted two metal rods, about two inch spacing, into a glass jar of distilled water and applied voltage. As the voltage was raised, a minimal amount of current would flow, but a flashover (such as would be found between two electrodes in air) did not occur as I would have expected. Ultimately, the voltage was raised high enough to establish an arc right through the water. The point is, distilled water is not conductive. If impurities are added, it starts to become conductive. So, assuming the lake water was not pure, it was indeed conductive and current would probably flow outward from the ladder in a manner similar to the way a drop of ink spreads through water. If you could see the current flow, I would think you would see the current flow spreading out from the ladder in a direction (or directions) which allowed the fault current to return to its source. In theory, assuming the water in the lake was equally not pure everywhere, the current flow would go in all directions, just more current would follow some paths than others. If you could measure voltage drop across the water, say stick the probes in a foot apart and measure the voltage drop, you would probably find the voltage drop to be greater as you near the source of current (the ladder?). That is probably why the report of "feeling" electricity as the boys approached the ladder. Just think of the potential difference between their head and feet. This is probably not much different from what happens when lightning strikes the earth and spreads out in all directions (but that is an item for another discussion thread). Lastly, I am offering my thoughts as they develop. I am not offering these thoughts as anything more than that.

During the winter months, the dock moves up and down with the water levels. The wiring from the hottub became dislodged and came in contact with surrounding metal, possibly the ladder. It is critical that the grounding for a dock be checked at the beginning of each season. Thanks.

Gentlemen, In response to some of the comments that have been made on this incident - Fresh water is a poor conductor compaired to the body - therefore, with a voltage gradient in the water of only 2 vac / Ft. a swimmer can become paralized - electric shock drowning then occurs. I have listed and investigated over 42 fatalities of this type - see related stories on our website: http://www.marinaguard.net Hope this helps. Jim Shafer

Note to Jim Shafer

I checked your web site. The information is great to see. It looks like most of the problems happen because of faulty ground return paths. Also, I had no idea what voltage gradient would be seen by a swimmer in such a situation. I suppose if you could swim across the current instead of with the current, you would have a better chance of survival. Maybe pullilng up into a round shape would also help, but then swimming in such a configuration would be difficult if not impossible.

Years ago, in the process of drilling a hole in the horizontal run of the vent stack of a rotary kiln for a temperature probe, I unleashed a small quantity of water from a low spot in the run.This water ran down the body of the then new DOUBLE INSULATED drillmotor ( no ground ). I recieved the resulting shock at the top of a 30 foot ladder, this caused me to drop the drill and bit, narrowly missing my "spotter" at the base of the ladder. This was before GFCI and certainly before two-wire neutral current monitor systems. Properly Maintained GFCI systems cheat the reaper!

This is in reply to Debbie Mann. The human body has less resistance than fresh water, so is a preferred path for current in a body of water. To help picture what is happening in this case, think about a large number of resistive wires connected on one end to the ladder (energized by a chafed wire at 120 volts) and the other end connected to another metal structure on the dock which is bonded back to the service panel through a low resistance path. These wires represent various current paths through the water. Then picture the basketball player's body being lined up with, and becoming part of, one of these wires. This puts him in the current path. Let's assume the ladder (at 120 volts) is 30 feet away from the bonded metal dock (at 0 volts). That gives us a voltage gradient through the water of 120 volts/30 feet or 4 volts/ft. Our 6 foot tall teen then could have 24 volts from head to toe. A wet human body can have less than 1000 ohms resistance (Google "electric shock" for more details). Using our old standby, Ohm's Law V=IR (or I=V/R), shows we have I=24 volts/1000 ohms = 0.024 amps = 24 milliamps. This is enough current to start causing paralysis, especially when in a maintained condition like when immersed in water. I hope this all makes sense and helps explain why this situation is so dangerous, especially in fresh water.

Thank you, Rick, for the math. Just what I wanted.

All this information is very useful and I thank you all for it! My next concern is for the actual problem. We have all now shown that it can happen but what I need to know is Did it happen like this? Where is the fault? Was everything wired correctly and the GFCI failed? Since I am in the inspection and repair industry I would like to know what happemed so I can keep my eyes open to future problems and correct them. Anyone hear or know how to find this out? Jonathon

Gentlemen, This article certainly has generated a lot of interest - and I am glad to see that. I have been looking at "electric shock drownings" for over 5 years and have catalogued a list of over 40 fatalites, which you may request - see: http://www.marinaguard.net. Rick Mack explaines it very well. The reason we use 2V/Ft. is because a child can become disabled and drown at only 10ma of body current.. Those are right who said that the current density is not linear, and that water cuductivity is a factor - we have no accidents listed in salt water. Because even at very high currents (above breaker trip) in salt water a lethal gradient cannot be achieved. Keep the comments coming, our research is on- going and we need all the help we can get. Thanks, Jim Shafer