A Family’s Solemn Wait : Accident: Divers continue to search for the body of Marisol Quezada, 4, who is presumed drowned after a boat her parents rented capsized Sunday on Silverwood Lake.

Surrounded by their three surviving children, the parents of 4-year-old Marisol Quezada continued an agonizing wait at home Wednesday as divers spent a fourth day searching Silverwood Lake in San Bernardino County for the body of their daughter, who is presumed drowned.

Looking exhausted, 32-year-old Jesus Quezada recounted a terrifying boating accident that occurred on Sunday when the 14-foot aluminum boat the family rented capsized in 75 to 100 feet of water.

“My daughter, I tried to grab her [with] my arm,” the father said tearfully in Spanish. “I reached for her, and my wife was sinking on the other end. I went to grab my wife and lost [hold] of my little girl. I wasn’t able to reach my little girl.”

Marisol, who was to begin kindergarten this fall, is the couple’s youngest child. She was among the two adults and six children, ranging in age from 4 to 10, on the boat when it capsized in choppy water. The child was not wearing a life preserver but was instead hanging onto a seat cushion.

“It’s important that she be found,” the father said. “If the body does not appear, I fear for my wife’s health. If she is not found, there will be no peace.”

Martha Quezada, sick with grief, was hospitalized earlier this week but was back home Wednesday, under sedation and awaiting word.

A Silverwood State Lake Recreation Area ranger said this week that the family’s boat was overloaded, exceeding the boat’s capacity of four people or 670 pounds. Officials also said that each person is supposed to be issued a life jacket.

Jesus Quezada said that he did not believe that he, his wife, their four children and two of his brother’s children had exceeded the weight limit. But he did acknowledge that he, his wife, Marisol and another child were not wearing life preservers.

An attorney for the family, Oscar H. Gutierrez, denied reports that the family had left the dock with four people in the boat, then picked up other children at another dock, knowingly violating the rules.

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“My understanding is that everyone got on at the same time,” Gutierrez said. “At the time, they thought it would be OK. This rule was not enforced.” The employees who rented the boat were not present at the dock to see how many people got in, Gutierrez said.

The attorney also said the Quezadas’ inability to understand and speak English might have led to a misunderstanding of the rules and possibly later hampered rescue efforts.

The family had never visited the lake before Sunday, when they went on an outing with Jesus Quezada’s brother and his family. The day had been idyllic until late afternoon when the family’s boat stalled on the way back to the dock.

“We were getting closer to the pier but the other boats coming made waves, and water seeped into our boat,” the father said. “More and more water was coming in. We tried to move to the other side to balance out the water and the boat flipped over.”

Park employees and lifeguards were at the boat within two minutes and rescued a 5-year-old who was trapped underneath the overturned boat, park officials said this week.

But the family and at least one witness said help did not arrive for at least five minutes, possibly 10.

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“It was chaos,” said Donald Burdeaux, who was in his boat about 30 yards away when the accident occurred. Burdeaux said he picked up two of the Quezada children from the water himself.

“I voiced concern to the park people about how fast people were there and asked what the procedures were for pulling people out,” he said. “It really bothered me.”

Park officials could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. A park aide would only say that the search for the little girl’s body was continuing.

The family also contends that an underwater search for their daughter did not begin until at least two hours later.

“I was screaming, ‘My daughter! My daughter!’ But no one did anything,” Martha Quezada said.

Burdeaux, a 52-year-old resident of Bloomington, said he was also surprised at how long it took for the search to begin.

“I don’t know if it took two hours to start it, but it certainly took a long time,” he said.

Burdeaux, who spent some time Sunday searching for the body with his 21-foot motor boat, said he will always be haunted by the accident and wonder if he and others could have done more.

“The look on that father’s face,” he said, “I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.”