MINNESOTA — Three men drowned in separate incidents across Minnesota over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, according to the Beltrami and Carver county sheriff's offices and news reports citing the Washington County Sheriff's Office.
Movil Lake, Beltrami County
The first happened Friday evening on Movil Lake in Turtle Lake Township, north of Bemidji.
According to a press release from the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office, emergency dispatchers received a call around 5 p.m. reporting that an adult male had exited a boat and entered the water, then became submerged and did not resurface.
Deputies and other first responders were dispatched and assisted by nearby boaters, bystanders and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officers. Around 5:30 p.m., responders identified what they believed to be a body in about 25 feet of water, but had to evacuate the lake as severe thunderstorms moved in before the Lakes Area Dive Team could reach the scene.
Once the storms passed, the dive team recovered the body around 8:30 p.m. The sheriff's office said the man was transported by a funeral home for autopsy and that the case remains under investigation. He has not been publicly identified.
Lake Ann, Carver County
The second happened Saturday evening at Lake Ann in Chanhassen.
Deputies received reports around 7:20 p.m. that a man had gone underwater and had not resurfaced.
Lake Ann Park was closed while crews searched, and the Carver County Dive Team recovered the man's body just before 10 p.m. The sheriff's office said there were no other victims and that it is investigating in coordination with the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office, which will determine the man's identity and cause of death.
The City of Chanhassen also canceled its Fourth of July fireworks show at Lake Ann Park in the wake of the drowning.
The show has been rescheduled for Thursday, July 23.
St. Croix Beach, Washington County
The third happened Sunday evening at St. Croix Beach in Washington County.
According to FOX 9, divers from the Lower St. Croix Fire Department and sheriff's deputies responded just after 6:30 p.m. to a report of a possible drowning. Deputies and members of the public entered the water and brought a 20-year-old man to shore, where lifesaving measures were started.
He was taken to Regions Hospital, where he later died. The incident remains under investigation, and the man has not yet been identified.
Additionally, a 16-year-old also nearly drowned at Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis this weekend and remains in critical condition."
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