KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Monday was a quiet day at Schlitterbahn Water Park as the park’s communication director and others spent the day in meetings, and the park and police continued their investigation into the tragic death of 10-year-old Caleb Schwab.
One day after Caleb died on Verrückt, the world’s tallest water slide, barricades block all entrances to Schlitterbahn and more than a dozen water slides at the park are idle as the park remains closed.
FOX 4’s Robert Townsend reported that investigators seized parts of the safety netting that tore Sunday as well as the raft Caleb was riding.
Guadalupe Arroyo and her family drove from Garden City, Kan., Monday to see Verrückt for themselves. The mother of two says she can’t stop thinking about Caleb’s family.
“It’s just scary to think that they get on those things and anything can happen,” Arroyo said. “We`re here for fun, and it turns tragic.”
Caleb was at Schlitterbahn with his mom, dad and brothers. Caleb is the second son of Michele and Scott Schwab, a Kansas representative. Friends of the family say Caleb he an older brother and two younger brothers. Caleb was reportedly riding the slide with two adult women, with whom he was matched on the raft. The women are from north of Hays, Kan. One suffered a broken jaw, and the other a broken bone in her face and had to have stitches in her eye. The husband of one of the women says they are also suffering emotionally. He says the women do not know exactly what happened because it happened so fast. One of them had her eyes closed. One described it as the worst day of her life.
The park’s website said Verrückt is the largest water slide in the world at 168 feet, 7 inches, and riders must be at least 54 inches tall. The combined weight of all the people on-board one raft must fall between 400 and 550 pounds.
Schlitterbahn water park issued a statement on Monday that said the park is tentatively scheduled to reopen on Wednesday, but Verrückt will remain closed.
The slide opened in July of 2014 after its opening was delayed a number of times.
