Mourners remember drowning victim at Lake Mohegan

FAIRFIELD -- Family members and friends of a 10-year-old Bridgeport girl who drowned in Lake Mohegan Tuesday evening, gathered Thursday night to mourn their loss at the spot where she slipped from her mother's grasp and went under water two days earlier.

Catherine Perez Trujillo, who lived on Iranistan Avenue, was swimming in a restricted area with other young family members when all four of them began to struggle. Her mother, Camelia Trujillo and others went into the water to save the children, but Perez Trujillo fell out of her mother's grasp, police said. She was found about 45 minutes later by a Fairfield police diver following a search by several emergency responders, authorities said. The Multicultural Magnet School fifth-grader was pronounced dead at Bridgeport Hospital.

At Lake Mohegan Thursday night, around 7:15 p.m., almost exactly 48 hours from when Perez Trujillo slipped under water, more than two dozen mourners tossed flowers into the water in her memory.

Earlier in the day, the family thanked the public for helping to fund the girl's funeral and burial services through donations.

Camelia Trujillo said Wednesday that she was not aware that the area she had taken her daughter to swim was dangerous. There are signs in the area, but Trujillo said she didn't see them.

Police and other town officials say there is a sheer drop at the bottom of the lake that can catch even experienced swimmers off guard. Authorities said they plan to consider new ways to warn swimmers of the danger in the northern area of the lake, possibly including adding new signage. Lifeguards are stationed at the southern part of the lake, where swimming is allowed.

Calling hours will be held for Perez Trujillo on Sunday at the Luz de Paz Funeral Home, 426 East Washington Ave., Bridgeport, from 6 to 9 p.m. A funeral mass is scheduled for Monday morning at 11 a.m. at St. Peter's Church, 695 Colorado Avenue, Bridgeport.