Authorities initially said the victim was 12 years old, but Clint Sprague, a pastor who is acting as a spokesman for the family, said Caleb was 10. He was killed Sunday while riding the 168-foot Verruckt, which remains closed indefinitely.
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KCK police said the incident is still under investigation. An off-duty officer working at Schlitterbahn notified police dispatch an incident had occurred on the Verruckt Water Slide, and assistance was needed.
There was no additional information released about the fatality.
KCK police said Caleb Schwab was 1 of 3 passengers riding in a boat on the Verruckt Water Slide on Sunday, August 7.
The tragedy happened on a day the park offered lawmakers and other elected officials a buffet lunch, hot dogs and hamburgers.
Pastor Sprague says Michele and Scott are relying on their faith to get through this hard time.
This is the first time a visitor to Schlitterbahn has died inside the park.
The statement thanked the community for an “outpouring of support and compassion” after his sudden death.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether results of an autopsy Monday on Caleb would be publicly released or, if so, how soon, said Margaret Studyvin with the Wyandotte County coroner’s office.
Prosapio says the park was closed Sunday and would also be closed Monday while the death is investigated. Schwab was the son of Kansas State Representative Scott Schwab, who, in a statement said that the family was devastated. The 168-foot-tall waterslide is scheduled to open to the public Thursday, after initially being slated to open May 23.
The Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission was having a short meeting Monday to discuss whether state campaign finance laws apply to the effort.
The Verrückt water slide is the tallest in the world, according to Guinness World Records.
Police and Prosapio did not provide details of how the child died or the child’s identity.
Investigators are still trying to determine what led to the boy’s death – and how he got on the slide, since he may not have met the ride’s minimum height requirement of 54 inches.
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Another effect that has come with the boy’s death is the question of whether potentially unsafe rides at water parks and amusement parks ought to be regulated by government inspectors.
