Briton, 14, dies in US river

The parents of a British boy who drowned while on holiday in America said they had been left "devastated" by his death.

Mckinley Day, 14, of Farndon, Cheshire, died canoeing in the Beaver river, Croghan, upstate New York during an outing with friends and relatives on Friday afternoon.

Following the tragedy, his parents Lesley and Adam posted a message to the youngster's friends on his Facebook page.

The message said: "To all Mckinley's friends.

"We are devastated to tell you our son sadly past away while on holiday in USA.

"We will always love and miss you.

"We shall inform you all later of any funeral details."

A spokeswoman for Lewis County Sheriff's Department said Mckinley was in a canoe when it tipped over.

She said: "He was out in a canoe with another person and it tipped over and the other person was able to swim to shore but he wasn't."

An off-duty state police trooper from Idaho and his lifeguard niece found Mckinley under 8ft of water minutes after he shouted for help.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "We are aware of the death of a British national in Croghan on 12 August.

"We are providing consular assistance. The death involved a minor."

Mckinley's parents also included a link to a story about the tragedy on his Facebook page.

The report, from the website of the Watertown Daily Times, which covers northern New York, said the teenager drowned in an area commonly referred to as "Double Eddy" while swimming in a quiet pool downstream of the rapids below the dam with his younger brother and a family friend.

Mckinley was on holiday with his mother and younger brother, Mitchell.

His body was located 8ft beneath the water's surface by Thomas Wright, an off-duty Idaho state trooper, and his niece, Elizabeth Wright, a trained lifeguard, who were tubing in the rapids upstream of the incident and responded to calls for help, the Daily Times report said.

Efforts to revive Mckinley were unsuccessful, and he was later pronounced dead at Lewis County General Hospital, Lowville, the report continued.

AP