BARRON COUNTY — A 17-year-old Minnesota male died after a kayak accident on Kirby Lake in Barron County, Wisconsin, according to a press release from the Barron County Sheriff’s Office.
Press Release
On Saturday, November 9, 2024, at approximately 12:35 p.m., the Barron County 911 Center received multiple 911 calls of subjects screaming for help on Kirby Lake in Maple Plain Township. It was discovered there were two subjects were in the water from overturned kayaks and a 17-year-old male had not resurfaced.
Deputies from the Barron County Sheriff's Department along with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin State Patrol, Cumberland Fire Department, Cumberland Ambulance Service, Shell Lake Fire Department, Rice Lake Fire Department, Chetek Fire Department, Chetek Dive Fire Dive Team, and Turtle Lake Fire Department responded to the scene.
After searching the lake with sonar, the Shell Lake Fire Department located an image on sonar that was believed to be the missing 17-year-old male. This was confirmed by the Barron County Sheriff's Department and WI DNR as they also located a similar image. The Chetek Fire Department sent divers down in the area and located the 17-year-old male. Life-saving measures were immediately taken and the male subject was then transported to a medical facility in Minnesota by Life Link Helicopter.
The Barron County Sheriff's Department was notified by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office on Sunday, November 10, 2024, that the 17-year-old had succumbed to his injuries and had passed away.
The 17-year-old male was from MN and our thoughts and prayers are with the family.
At this time, the case remains under investigation by the Barron County Sheriff's Department and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource.
-- Per Chris Fitzgerald, Barron County Sheriff
Last Update: Nov 12, 2024 5:47 am CST
