Travis Bauman, teen who drowned near Winkler dam, 'loved life and loved people'

The father of a teenager who drowned near a dam last week says the boy was energetic and in the prime of his life.

Travis Bauman, 17, wasswimming Wednesday in the dam, located southeast of Winkler, Man.,with his brother and another friend when hewent under in the fast-moving waters and didn't resurface. His body was found by divers late Friday.

"He had a lot of ambition, a lot of interests," the teen's father, Gerald Bauman said. "He loved to be busy. He didn't like to sit around and not know what he was going to do with himself."

"He loved life and loved people," he added.

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Baumansaid his son was in the midst of building a fish pond in the family's yard this summer. That's a projectthe family will now use to honour the memory of Travis.

"He enjoyed getting dirty," he said.

Community comes together

The father said the family is struggling to cope with grief over their child's death buthas received a lot of support from family members and the community.

"We're overwhelmed with the awesome support of the community and friends," he said. "It just went far beyond anything we could have expected."

Bauman, who is a pastor at theHordeanMennonite Church inHorndean, Man., said the tragedy has pulled both the family and community closer together.

Travis'sbody was found by a group of divers from aHutteritecolony from the Morris, Man. area. He said it took the group of four about an hour to find Travis' body. It was pulled from the water at about 10:45 p.m. Friday.

"Thank youdoesn't anywhere come close to expressing the appreciation we have for all that was done," Travis's father said.

Family and friends of the teen plan to gather Monday evening totalk about the tragedy and share memories of the teenager.A funeral for TravisBaumanis planned for Thursday afternoon.

The teen's family wants to warnothers about the dangers of swimming in areas like diversion dams. RCMP said the fast-flowing water in the area is about two metres deep at the dam and more than three metres deep in other areas.

"Be careful," Bauman said. "The undercurrents can be stronger than what you realize."