Father: Teen who died while paddleboarding on Minnesota lake likely had 'cardiac arrest-like event'

A 14-year-old boy who fell into a central Minnesota lake while paddleboarding and died likely suffered cardiac arrest, according to the teenager's father.

The Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday identified the boy who fell into Star Lake as Stanley R. Wilson, of Encinitas, Calif. He and his family were staying at the Pine Terrace Resort.

Wilson went under shortly before sunset near the shore on the eastern edge of Star Lake, about 12 miles northeast of Pequot Lakes, the Sheriff's Office said.

People nearby retrieved Wilson from water 6 to 12 feet deep, according to the Sheriff's Office. Emergency responders declared him dead at the scene.

Eric Wilson, the teen's father, wrote on an online fund-raising campaign on behalf of the family that the medical examiner said "a hereditary, undiagnosed heart condition [was found], and he likely had a cardiac arrest-like event while on that paddleboard and that he very likely felt no pain or terror."

The father added that "I know it would bother Stanley if it was thought that he had made a clumsy mistake or slipped on a paddleboard."

Tiffany Krob, chief investigator for the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office, said Tuesday that it could be at least six weeks before final determinations are made into the cause and manner of Stanley Wilson's death.

Most sudden cardiac deaths occur in older adults, particularly those with heart disease, according to the Mayo Clinic. However, sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in young athletes, Mayo notes. Estimates vary, but some reports suggest that about 1 in 50,000 to 1 in 80,000 young athletes die of sudden cardiac death each year, Mayo adds.