Family mourning the loss of Bellevue drowning victim, a beloved father of two

A family in Bellevue is mourning the loss of a beloved father to two young girls.

Parahat Akyshov, 33, drowned in Lake Washington last Wednesday night, according to Mercer Island Police.

Bellevue and Mercer Island Marine Patrol were called to Chism Beach Park in Bellevue to search for Akyshov in the water.

He was last seen in an area that is more than 100 feet deep.

Investigators said Akyshov rented a motorboat with two adult friends and his two young daughters. The older daughter who is only 5, fell off the boat and into Meydenbauer Bay. She was wearing a life vest according to police.

That prompted Akyshov to jump into the water without a life vest on to save her.

"Trying to save his daughter that he went into the water, and we couldn’t find him despite the search that was taking place at the time, that evening we couldn’t find him," said close friend Ramin Yusuflv. "His daughters were everything for him."

A sailing club that was in the area pulled the girl to safety, but could not rescue the dad.

A day later, on Thursday just after 5:30 p.m. Mercer Island Marine Patrol recovered the victim from Lake Washington. 

Close friends are rallying around the victim’s wife and two young daughters, and so far have raised thousands of dollars to support them financially on GoFundMe.