Three children drowned in Iowa River while fishing with relatives

Three Iowa children, all under the age of nine, drowned while celebrating the Fourth of July with family at a lake.

Siblings Lee Meh, 9, and Sae Reh, 7, along with their 7-year-old cousin Thay Mo, were with relatives at Iowa River when they went under water and never resurface.

Although the children were in shallow water Marshalltown authorities did not find them until several hours after they received the frantic 911 call around 6:00 p.m.

It’s unclear whether there are “No Swimming” warning signs where the children drowned, but authorities said although most of the water is only ankle deep there are pockets where it’s about 12-plus feet deep and swimming should be avoided.

“The river looks relatively calm down on the location where this occurred, and in many areas down there it’s very shallow,” Marshalltown Police Chief Michael Tupper said.  “But there are also areas that can drop off to 12 or 14 feet, and the undercurrent can be very dangerous in any river.”

The children are all believed to be immigrants from the southeast Asian country of Myanmar.