Evening star., 1929-07-01
.TWODROWN, SIX ARE
.RESCUEDAT NEARBY
BATHING BEACHES
Washington Boy and Girl
Lose Their Lives at
River Resorts.
HEROIC WOMAN SWIMMER
SAVES TWO FROM DEATH
Tragic Fatalities Mar Outings
Taken Yesterday by Groups
Of Young People.
Because neither could swim a stroke,

Because neither could swim a stroke,
q Washington boy and girl were
drowned at nearby bathing resorts yes
terday, while six other persons were
rescued-two Of them young girls who
owe their lives to the fact that q
young woman accompanying them
could swim a little and risked her life
to save them.
The drowned girl is Della Sesso, H.
year-old daughter of Mr.. and Mrs
Henry Sesso of 1920 Fifteenth street.
The boy who lost his life is Charles
Gessford Thayer, 16 years old, son OF
Policeman and Mrs. G. G. Thayer, 582s
Colorado avenue.
Della Sesso drowned so close to shore
that had she been able to swim a
single stroke would have carried her
TO safety.
with her sister Florence, Is years old
and a party of friends she had gone
to Mount Holly Farm, on South River,
to attend a picnic in celebration Of
Tony Vettori's fifty-f1rst birthday.
The river bed appeared to slope
away gradually from tne shore. Della
Florence and Alva Gammarino, 19-
year-old telephone operator, Of 1856
Sixteenth street, donned bathing suits
and went wading. None Of the three
could swim.
Abrupt Drop in River Bed.
Unknown to the girls, the river bed
dropped away abruptly about 10 feet
from shore. Miss Gammarino stepped
OF the shelf and sank. In the con-
fusion that followed, Della grabbed
Florence and both fell into the deer
water.
Miss Marian B. Hurley, 26 years old
of 800 Eleventh street southwest, was
sitting on the shore short distance
away. She describes herself as an or
dtnary" swimmer.
The three struggling girls were being
ley dived after them. Reaching Miss
Gammarino first, she quieted her and
swan back to the shelf, where others
In the party took the girl ashore
Swimming back to where the two sis
ters were struggling with each other In
their frantic efforts to keep above wa
ter, Miss Hurley seized Florence. The
young girl struggled so desperately that
both she and her rescuer nearly lost
their lives. Finally, however. Miss Hur-
ley reached shore with the girl.
In the meantime Della had disap-
peared. After several unsuccessful at
went ashore and collapsed from ex-
haustion.
Some hours later Douglas Crosby
intercollegiate lightweight boxing cham
pion. and Barney Turner, guards at
South River Beach, recovered the girls
body from the bottom Of the river. II
was taken to Annapolis, where the cor
oner issued certificate Of accidental
death by drowning.
Young Man Meets Tragic Death.
Young Thayer's death in the Potomac
River of Colonial Beach was equally
as tragic
Hundreds of bathers at the beach
believing the boys were playing, looked
on without attempting to aid while
Thayer drowned and Carl Davis of 1914
A street northeast, a companion, went
down for the third time. Carl Mark
wich, q Colonial Beach High School
boy, found Davis on the bottom and
carried him ashore, where he was re-
Suscitated.
Thayer, Davis and Marvin Blount OF
Lynchburg, Va, hired a canoe at the
beach and put out from shore for q
short ride. AS In the other case, none
After they had progressed short dis.
tance the canoe turned over. Thayel
and Davis were thrown away from the
craft and went down after a brief strug-
gle. Blount succeeded In grasping the
side of the overturned canoe, clingine
to it until Markwich heard his cries
and, realizing the seriousness of his
plight, came to his rescue. Righting the
light boat, Markwich helped Blount in
and then succeeded in locating Davis
who was revived with considerable Diff
Guilty.
Body Identified by Relative.
The body of Thayer was not fount
until o'clock last night. Mrs. r. w
Garner Of Colonial Beach, an aunt
made the identification.
Two other Washington boys were res.
cued after they had clung to their cap.
sized canoe in Chesapeake Bay for more
than an hour. They are Harru F
Brown, 10 years old, and Joseph Pat.
rick, 20 years old, both Of 1928 o street
Both of these boys can swim, but they
were unable to tow the canoe the
pmiles to shore, so they chung to it unit
! party of fishermen picked them up
| The fishermen, whose names were not
learned, took the boys to shallow water
| where they were able to right the canoe
The two boys lost their clothing wher
the boat went over, and were forced tx
return to Washington in borrowed bath.
| ing suits.