Boy who drowned in Maplewood creek identified

Maplewood police have identified the teenager who drowned Thursday night after being swept away in a rain-swollen stream in Battle Creek Regional Park.

By Tim Harlow, Star Tribune

Last update: September 21, 2007 - 11:25 PM

Maplewood police have identified the teenager who drowned Thursday night after being swept away in a rain-swollen stream in Battle Creek Regional Park.

The victim was Derek Tyler Beauclaire, 13, of Maplewood, said Police Chief David Thomalla.

The boy had been playing with three friends in a creek that runs through the park when a water surge pushed him over a small concrete dam around 8 p.m.

Heavy rain earlier this week and Thursday significantly raised the water level in the creek, which runs through the north end of the park at Hwy. 61 and Lower Afton Road.

Rescue workers pulled Beauclaire from about 5 feet of water 75 feet downstream from the dam, Thomalla said. The teen was pronounced dead at the scene.

TIM HARLOW