Authorities ID man who drowned in Maple Grove lake while fleeing police

Authorities say the motorist who drowned in a Maple Grove lake last week after fleeing police was a 26-year-old man from Zumbrota, Minn.

Jesse K. Shoemaker's body was recovered shortly after 5 a.m. Friday from Cedar Island Lake, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office said Tuesday.

Hours before the drowning, Corcoran and Rogers police officers were working to track down a black sedan involved in unspecified suspicious activity. The vehicle sped down Interstate 94 toward County Road 30 in Corcoran, at one point nearly striking a Corcoran police cruiser.

Officers tried to stop the vehicle, then began pursuing it, said Matt Gottschalk, Corcoran's director of public safety.

A Corcoran officer found the unoccupied vehicle by Cedar Island Lake. Police soon heard calls for help, Gottschalk said. Rescue personnel found Shoemaker's body near where officers had heard the cries.

Shoemaker had run-ins with the law throughout his adult life, including convictions for burglary, theft, check forgery, driving under the influence of drugs and driving repeatedly after his license was revoked.