Wife, bystander unable to help man who drowned after saving dog

Wife, bystander unable to help man who drowned after saving dog
Husband, she says, wanted to be remembered for his art

By Joseph Ruzich

Special to the Tribune

August 25, 2009


Dilbara Arapova "had a bad feeling about the place."

She and her husband, Vasily Fedorouk, an internationally renowned sculptor from Westmont, were playing with their dog, Era, near Horsetail Lake in the Cook County forest preserve in Palos Township on Sunday morning. It was the first time they had taken the dog to the location, and Arapova was leery.

"There were a lot of weeds [along the shore]," Arapova said.

The 2 1/2 -year-old German hunting terrier went into the lake to fetch a ball but got caught in some vegetation. Fedorouk, 59, jumped into the lake, freed the family pet but wound up getting entangled himself, officials said.

"He was waving his hands in the water," Arapova said. "At first I thought he was joking. Then he went underwater and I started to scream. I couldn't help him. I can't swim."

Arapova said another man at the scene, who also couldn't swim, called police on a cell phone. Police and paramedics arrived about eight minutes after the incident, Arapova said, but it was too late.

Fedorouk was found submerged in 6 to 8 feet of water and later was pronounced dead. An official with the Cook County medical examiner's office said Monday that Fedorouk died of accidental drowning. Arapova said police told her that Fedorouk apparently got caught in fishing line.
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Wife bystander unable to help man who drowned after saving dog