2 apparent drownings in west metro

Rescue teams searched Lake Minnetonka Saturday night for a Twin Cities man in his 40s last seen in Wayzata Bay.

He was boating with friends and swam about 25 feet to help someone with a disabled personal watercraft, said Lisa Kiava, Hennepin County Sheriff's spokeswoman. Swimming back to the boat, he began struggling and slid out of sight, she said.

Local fire departments and the county water patrol responded to the call at 7:36 p.m., Kiava said. Besides boat surface searches, a State Patrol helicopter and water patrol sonar side scanner also were used, she said.

The last drowning on the lake was about 2 1/2 years ago.

Also Saturday night, a Maryland man in his 30s apparently drowned about 7:30 p.m. in the swimming pond at Elm Creek Regional Park.

He was seen struggling in the deep part of the pond and a lifeguard brought him to shore. The lifeguard and rescue workers tried to resuscitate the man, but he died at the scene, Kiava said.

JIM ADAMS