Father, 4-year-old son drown on fishing trip in Kumamoto

Tuesday 15th September, 08:15 AM JST

KUMAMOTO —

A man and his son were found dead on Monday after they went missing while on a fishing trip to the Mibune River. Police said the bodies of Kazuyoshi Suminaga, 39, and his 4-year-old son were discovered in the area at around 5:20 p.m. There were no external injuries on the bodies and police believe they drowned in the river.

According to police, Suminaga and his son were found completely clothed at the bottom of an area of the river that is about 5 meters deep. Their fishing gear and cooler were found on a nearby bank. The pair had set off to go fishing on Sunday, and Suminaga’s wife became worried when they didn’t return home by evening, contacting police. Authorities began a search, and found the bodies on Monday afternoon.

News reports

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Latest 15 of 21 Total Comments Show All

timorborder at 10:39 AM JST - 15th September

Not such a difficult one to figure out. The kid probably went too close to the water and fell in. Dad tried to save him, but the combination of clothing, depth and poor swimming skills condemned them both.

RIP.
mansen at 10:51 AM JST - 15th September

RIP
bobbafett at 11:45 AM JST - 15th September

illsayit,

I feel sorry for you if you father never took you out fishing as a child but I went fishing all the time when I was 4.

My father would throw the dynamite into the water and I would wait downstream for the fish that had hit the surface to float on down where I would pluck them up and cast them into a net.

My all time fantasy as a kid was to be struggling with a giant eel near a creek and for Kylie Minougue to suddenly drive up in a Honda civic and tow the eel put for me, put it in the trunk, and drive me home.

So you see, fishing is not bad for kids.

But this is really a tragedy. I don't want to speculate how it came about because its too sad. It was a father and son spending time together.
kirakira25 at 11:53 AM JST - 15th September

My husband took my 5 year old daughter out fishing just last weekend because she wanted to go. I stayed home with our 3 year old son and we did some fun stuff together too because I knew he would get bored just hanging around waiting for the fish to bite. Nothing unusual about a father wanting to spend some quality time with one or other of his children.
Laguna at 12:03 PM JST - 15th September

Be extremely wary of rivers. Unlike the ocean, where a surge that may pin you against something will eventually reverse and set you free, once you're pinned in a river, you're dead. My guess is the poor boy fell in, the father jumped in to save him, and they got pinned. For young people, life jackets may be advisable even if you do not plan to enter the water.
illsayit at 01:37 PM JST - 15th September

Yk, I agree that it is a tragedy, and I really dont want any rules proscribed either. That is exactly why, considering why this occured is important-to me.

kira, can I ask why you dont all go as a family? no interest? in the fishing, or the family?
fishy at 03:22 PM JST - 15th September

illsayit.. or the father might have just wanted to give the mommy some time to relax at home or do some shopping/get a hair cut or something because it's simply hard for a mom to have free time with a 4-year old.

just because this family didn't go out all together on this occasion does not mean they don't ever go out together as a family. I have 2 kids and sometimes I take my older child out while leaving the little one at home with daddy because there are things that older boy would enjoy and little ones don't. Fishing, is a good example. 4-year-olds can have lots of fun fishing and they can also be patient for quite a long time and enjoy hanging out with daddy.. a younger child, let's say 1 or 2-year olds would not. So, like kirakira25.. her 5-year-old daughter would enjoy being out with daddy fishing but her 3-year old son wouldn't have the patience to sit down on a boat and etc.. too dangerous.

I am assuming you don't have kids yet.. Once you have your own kids, it all makes sense I'm sure :)
animallover at 04:36 PM JST - 15th September

RIP
kirakira25 at 07:43 PM JST - 15th September

kira, can I ask why you dont all go as a family? no interest? in the fishing, or the family?

Sure - as I said before, we felt that my son was likely to find it kind of boring - he has a pretty short attention span at the best of times. Also, I am currently 8 months pregnant and Sunday was a really hot day. I was ill last week so I didn`t want to overtax my body too much by hanging around in the hot sun for hours.

Later in the day we all met up and went to a nearby restaurant together and took the kids for ice-cream. My husband had been away the week I was ill on a business trip, and my daughter is really close to him, so I think he also wanted to spend a bit of quality time alone with her, as he had taken my son to look at cars the day before (something my daughter wasn`t really interested in.)

Does this answer your question?
usaexpat at 11:04 PM JST - 15th September

Sad: my guess is the boy fell in and the dad drowned trying to save him.
DerekJ at 04:58 AM JST - 16th September

I take my son fishing around canals and locks and though he is a decent swimmer, I do make him wear a life vest (which he hates). One little mis-step near the edge and you could find yourself diving in after your kid. Water safety is so important...too many people ignore/fail to recognize this often with tragic results. RIP
Icewind007 at 06:47 AM JST - 16th September

illsayit, I've been reeling them in with my dad since I was 3. It was always fun and I always enjoyed it. Nothing wrong with this picture.

However, in addition, I knew how to swim pretty well at 4. I really don't know what kind of situation they were both in to have drowned in a river. Were they wearing weights or something? I don't know any rivers that are strong enough to throw someone around (I am not talking about rapids or during flash floods... you don't fish in those).
kokorocloud at 08:46 AM JST - 16th September

That is just too sad... My grandfather used to take my mother and her sister fishing when they were really little too, so I don't find anything odd about this really. My prayers are with the wife.
fishy at 09:10 AM JST - 16th September

I wish they were wearing life vests...
kirakira25 at 11:36 AM JST - 16th September

My prayers are with the wife.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. She must be devastated.