KIMA is bringing you the most recent update about the Naches teenager who drowned during a family vacation. The 16-year-old Zachary Kuhn was pulled from Deep Lake in Enumclaw.

He was under the water for an hour. KIMA spoke with friends of the boy and neighbors.

People living in this quiet neighborhood of Naches are in disbelief. Dealing with the fact they won't see the teenager they've come to know.

"It is shocking because it's someone who's been a part of our ranger family at Naches", said Mary Clara Holman, a friend of Zach's from church.

Those emotions are shared by a lot of people here. Zach Kuhn went for what should have been a fun time in Deep Lake.

When witnesses saw him struggling in the water, it set off a frantic search. Divers pulled him to shore, but he could not be revived at the hospital.

"It just makes you feel kind of weird. Somebody you know see him go by, and then you won't see him again", said neighbor Frank Withrow. He told KIMA he's known the Kuhn family for years and Zach since he was born.

A housesitter taking care of the family home tells me says the Kuhns just started their vacation at Nolte State Park. They were in Enumclaw for a religious celebration known as Creation Fest.

Mary Clara remembers meeting him at the festival three years ago.

Mary Clara told us, "after Creation he'd go out of his way to say hi to me at Fred Meyers or wave to me on the road. Or if he was with his mom, his mom's always been very sweet to me."

Friends and neighbors say Zach had a lot of potential and was close to his family. Frank Withrow remembers seeing Zach and his father running errands or on their boat together.

"He's really fun and just loves life and did everything with his sister. Him and his sister were really really close", said Mary Clara.

A close-knit community feeling the pain of their neighbors. Coming to grips with the deep loss in Deep Lake.
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