Geneva Lake Water Safety Patrol gave 30-minute warning to boaters ahead of storm

LAKE GENEVA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A community is still reeling after a powerful storm capsized a boat on Geneva Lake on Friday, July 3, killing three children.

The Geneva Lake Water Safety Patrol says it received a severe weather alert about 30 minutes before the storm hit.

Four patrol boats waved red flags and displayed flashing red lights, encouraging people to leave the lake.

"This lake is a very deep lake. It's the second deepest lake in the state of Wisconsin," said Ted Pankau, director of the Geneva Lake Water Safety Patrol. "It was a very tragic accident that happened on Friday that was related directly to a quick-moving storm that came through our area.”

The National Weather Service says winds as high as 100 mph came down Lake Geneva.

"They were four to five feet high in some places. Yeah, they were very large for an inland lake," Pankau said.

Pankau has been the director of the Geneva Lake Water Safety Patrol, a local nonprofit dedicated to educating boaters on water safety, for 35 years.

"We run the red flags and our red flashing lights and go around the entire lake with that display to let people know that there is a storm approaching," he said.

Geneva Lake police say a boat carrying 10 people tried to ride out the storm after the operator couldn't reach safety.

Seven people were rescued from the water. Three children — ages 10, 7 and 6 — died. Police say all three children were wearing life jackets.

"The sky was getting dark, and I was like, 'Oh boy, that doesn't look good. That doesn't look like a drizzle,'" said Kelly Herington, who was boating on Geneva Lake.

Herington said she anchored her boat during the storm.

"That's all we expected it to be — rain, not some, you know, like world-ending storm that came through," she said.

The Geneva Lake Water Safety Patrol says boaters should continuously keep an eye on the sky.

"Just to kind of closely monitor those forecasts and radar from time to time, even if the morning forecast looks good, you might want to check it," Pankau said.

School districts in Batavia and Wheaton, Illinois, where the children attended school, say their deepest condolences are with the families of the victims.