GREAT BEND TRIBUNE More By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism. Man dies after drowning in Walnut Creek This aerial view shows the area of the accidental drowning that occurred northwest of Great Bend Wednesday morning. A rural Great Bend man died of an accidental drowning Wednesday morning northwest of Great Bend after tumbling down an embankment into a creek, Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir said. At about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Barton County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to a location on the Wet Walnut Creek near 387 NW 40th Rd., northwest of Great Bend. 911 had received a call of an unresponsive individual in the water at that location after a family member had called to report they had located Manuel Castillo, age 20, in the creek, the sheriff said.