Body of man who drowned in Waukesha County lake found Thursday, officials say he had no life jacket
Updated: Aug. 3, 2023 at 3:45 p.m.
WAUKESHA COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The body of a man who drowned after his kayak flipped over into Lower Nemahbin Lake on Tuesday was located early Thursday morning, ending a near three-day recovery mission.
In a press conference, officials confirmed the victim was a Milwaukee resident "at least temporarily," who was in his 50s and was not wearing a lifejacket when he fell into the water.
The two children who were also aboard the vessel are between the ages of eight and 10 and were both wearing lifejackets, which officials noted most likely saved their lives.
While police are not releasing the name of the victim as they have not located family, they also confirmed the man and the children are not related.
#NEW: The body of a man who drowned in Lower Nemahbin Lake on Tuesday was found Thursday morning, after a near three-day recovery mission. Officials tell me he was not wearing a lifejacket when his kayak flipped over in the water. Their message on water safety, on @cbs58 at 4. pic.twitter.com/3n364n1Tr3
— Ellie Nakamoto-White (@ellienw_news) August 3, 2023
The 911 calls came in right after 6 p.m. on Aug. 1, when multiple bystanders called for help in a reported drowning incident.
Officials arrived on scene less than 10 minutes later and deployed a "full response" involving 50 people from multiple agencies, divers, drones, and boats equipped with sonar equipment.
Despite efforts, the rescue transitioned into a recovery later that night with crews ending the search at 10:30 p.m.
The next day, efforts began again at 7 a.m. but had to end at dusk for "the safety of the divers."
It wasn't until 7:30 a.m. on Aug. 3 that the man's body was found.
“In some incidents it’s really easy to find missing victims and in this case, we had a lot of difficulties and challenges out there," said Lt. Drew Starch with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Lower Nemahbin Lake has a maximum depth of 36 ft, but the range that officials suspected the man could've fallen in reached from five ft to 23 ft.
"The primary search area included two bowls with depths of 18 to 23 ft, and an area with depths of 6 to 12 ft that were heavily weeded, a news release said. "Divers and sonar equipment were impacted with decreased visibility due to the sediment in the lake and heavy weed beds."
Now officials are emphasizing the importance of water safety, especially in the summertime.
“So anytime we have a tragic event like this incident we can use it as an opportunity to broadcast a safety message to the public," said Western Lakes Fire District Chief Bradley Bowen.
According to the state DNR, more than 90& of boat fatalities related to drowning incidents involve the victim not wearing a life jacket.
Drowning remains the leading cause of death for boat-related incidents.
Officials are still investigating why the kayak flipped, but said alcohol and drugs are not factors in his death.
Updated: Aug. 3, 2023
WAUKESHA COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Authorities have located the body of a man who fell into Lower Nemahbin Lake in Waukesha County, and did not resurface.
Officials said Thursday, Aug. 3, the man's body was located around 7:30 a.m. Thursday morning, Aug. 3.
His identity will not be released at this time.
An investigation continues.
Published: Aug. 2, 2023
WAUKESHA COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A search and recovery operation is underway in Waukesha County, after a man and two children on a kayak flipped and fell into Lower Nemahbin Lake -- it's between Delafield and Summit just south of I-94.
The call came into Western Lakes fire officials just after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 1.
Officials say a man was on a kayak with two children when they flipped, causing the three to fall into the lake. The children were able to grab onto the kayak and call for help. The man did not resurface.
Search and rescue efforts continued for hours Tuesday. As night set in, there was still no discovery.
"It's scary. There's kids out here all the time and you just pray that they find what they're looking for and that the family has some peace at the end of it, that's all we can hope for," said Eric McBride, who lives near the lake.
Officials said Wednesday morning, the incident has transitioned from a rescue to a recovery and transferred to the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department Dive Team.
The Village of Summit Police Department is leading the investigation.