Authorities said Saturday that Davis Paul Colley, 16, of Norwood Young America drowned Friday night in a Carver County lake.
Colley's body was recovered before midnight after a 911 caller reported seeing a swimmer go under about 7:30 p.m. at Baylor Regional Park, which is just off County Road 33 in Camden Township, Sheriff's Chief Deputy Jason Kamerud said.
Colley wasn't engaged in "recreational swimming" at Eagle Lake in western Carver County, according to a news release issued Saturday by the Sheriff's Office. Authorities continue to investigate why the boy was in the water, which was only 44 degrees.
Investigators had received information that Colley may have been in the water as part of the Cold Water Challenge. A video stunt that has gone viral, it involves daring friends to jump into frigid waters for cancer charities. But Kamerud said at this point, that doesn't appear to be what happened. "I don't want to say that we've ruled that out," he said. "But we're pretty comfortable that this wasn't a plunge-imposed event."
The fact that Colley was alone is one of the reasons investigators don't think he was performing a plunge, Kamerud said. "Because to be plunge-imposed, somebody would have to be there to take the picture."
Steeven Smith, a friend from Central High School where Colley was a sophomore and a standout wrestler, said that Colley was nominated on Facebook by another friend to do the Cold Water Challenge for breast cancer awareness. He added that Colley sent a text message to his girlfriend that night telling her that he was going to take the icy plunge.
Colley's body was taken to the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office in Ramsey for examination. He did not have signs of injury, the news release said, and the medical examiner will provide toxicology reports in coming weeks.
ALLIE SHAH
