Search crews on Wednesday recovered the body of a missing 15-year-old boy who jumped into a southwest Minnesota lake two days earlier after losing a canoe paddle.
The searchers located the body around 11:30 a.m. in Eagle Lake, , the Cottonwood County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday in a news release.
The boy had been canoeing with a family member about 10 miles northeast of Windom on Eagle Lake early Monday evening when he jumped in to retrieve his paddle, the Sheriff’s Office said. He attempted to swim back to the canoe, but wind pushed it farther away from him, according to the release.
“The family member lost sight of the [boy] as they drifted farther apart,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
There were no lifejackets in the canoe, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The search effort started Monday evening, was suspended several hours later, and then resumed Tuesday. Officials have yet to released the boy’s identity.
Star Tribune staff writer Paul Walsh contributed to this report.
