Man drowns, teen rescued from from Lake Marion in Lakeville
File photo of water. (Photo by Ernst Haas/Ernst Haas/Getty Images)
LAKEVILLE, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Dakota County Sheriff’s Office said the 26-year-old man who drowned and the teenager saved from Lake Marion over the weekend did not know how to swim.
The sheriff’s office said law enforcement responded to the lake around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday on a report of a possible drowning. A bystander rescued a 19-year-old man who fell into the water, but the 26-year-old man with him never resurfaced.
A witness reported the two men were on an inflatable device at Antlers Park swimming beach in Lakeville when a wave from a nearby boat knocked them over. At the time, the witness said the men were outside the designated swimming area.
According to the sheriff’s office, neither of the men knew how to swim.
The sheriff's office dive team located the man later that night approximately 40 yards off the shore. The victim was identified as 26-year-old Reynaldo Antonio Patishtan Hernandez, of Northfield.
"We thank and commend the bystander for his heroic lifesaving efforts of the 19-year-old and extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Mr. Patishtan Hernandez," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
As of June 30, there have been five boating-related fatalities in Minnesota so far this year, compared to five boating fatalities in all of 2023. Of those in 2024, no one was wearing a life jacket.
Furthermore, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, there have been 13 non-boating-related drownings so far in 2024, compared to 18 non-boating-related drownings last year.