POST FALLS, Idaho – Family of a 13-year-old boy from Spirit Lake who drowned Saturday in the Spokane River says he’ll be terribly missed by his parents, siblings and the community.
The family of Nicklas Reid Beckstead issued a statement Monday, asking for privacy and directing people to a GoFundMe set up to help Nicklas’s family.
He went missing Saturday while trying to swim across the Spokane River near Ironhorse Circle in Post Falls.
The dive team located him and he was taken to the hospital, but he did not survive.
“At this time, the family is hurting tremendously,” they said in a statement. “We have many unanswered questions and are navigating an unimaginable depth of grief.”
“Nicklas was so loved. He was so kind to everyone and could put a smile on anyone’s face. He had such a beautiful soul and loved his family and friends with all that he was. Family was everything to Nicklas, and this tragedy has shattered his family.”
Nicklas’s family said the GoFundMe is the only authorized fundraiser, set up so that the family can take time off to deal with the grief and “begin figuring out a new normal with their three other children.” The GoFundMe also says it will pay for medical care, funeral arrangements and counseling support.
“A huge thank you goes out to all of the emergency personnel and medical staff who worked so hard and were true heroes in bringing Nicklas home, in spite of the tragic outcome,” the fundraising website said.
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