Gary boy, 4, pulled from Robinson Lake Park in Hobart identified

HOBART, Ind. (WLS) -- Just one day after a 4-year-old boy drowned in a Northwest Indiana lake, children are back in the water.

Some were swimming at Hobart's Robinson Lake Park despite new signage posted Wednesday morning, saying that swimming is prohibited for anyone under age 18. The signs were put up at the water's edge after authorities said they found 4-year-old David Flemister unconscious in the lake Tuesday.

Bystanders and a Hobart police officer performed life-saving measures on the boy, of Gary, Indiana, before paramedics arrived. The 4-year-old was pronounced dead at a hospital. Police and the Indiana Department of Child Services are investigating the death.

Robinson Lake Park has long been a popular destination for those who live close by. It's a man made lake located near Indiana Dunes National Park. Regulars have said they enjoy the area because it isn't crowded and the water is calm and considered safe. There are no lifeguards, and those who choose to swim do so at their own risk.

Barbara Hooker said she was at the park Tuesday when a group of about 15 young children arrived unsupervised.

"We did ask them where there parents were. They said their parents were at home," Hooker said. "We told them it was probably not safe for them to be there without supervision. Half of them couldn't swim."

Hooker said only about four other adults were present at the park at the time.

An hour and a half later, Hooker said she was getting ready to leave with her daughter when they realized something had gone wrong.

"A group of them had left. As we were leaving, a couple of them had stayed behind and they were saying, 'Where is he? Where is he? I can't find him,'" Hooker said. "We just assumed he had left with the other boys. When we were walking out we heard the screaming that he was in the water unresponsive."