Third victim in Mill Lake canoeing incident identified, search on for last victim
WALWORTH COUNTY -- Officials have identified the third person recovered from the icy waters of Mill Lake in the Town of East Troy in Walworth County.
Search of Mill Lake in Walworth County
The body of 21-year-old Mori Weinstein was recovered around 2:30 p.m. Monday, January 5th.
The bodies of 20-year-old Lanny Sack and 21-year-old Christopher McQuillen were recovered from the lake in the Town of East Troy on Sunday afternoon, January 3rd.
"The three that have been recovered so far were in fairly close proximity. Any resources that we need I am pulling in so that we can bring this to a conclusion as soon as possible," Kurt Picknell, Walworth County sheriff said Monday.
The search continued on Tuesday for the fourth missing man.
DNR officials believed they located the other two bodies via sonar equipment Sunday. But darkness and freezing temperatures made it difficult for crews to continue their efforts on Sunday night. The search was called off around 7:00 p.m. Sunday.
The search efforts resumed on Monday -- by air and by water.
Officials said shortly after 5:00 p.m. Monday search crews would be leaving the water for the night because of darkness and cold temperatures.
All four victims in this case are from Illinois. FOX6 News is told they were part of a group of about a dozen people staying at a house on Mill Lake.
We're told this all began when four people went out on Mill Lake in a canoe between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. Sunday.
Later on Sunday morning, friends noticed they hadn't come back -- and a search began.
"They found a canoe overturned a close distance from the house," Town of East Troy Police Chief James Surges said.
Search of Mill Lake in Walworth County
At some point after 2:00 a.m. Sunday, the four men left the home, and took a canoe from the boat launch.
"They weren`t dressed like they were going for a paddle. They looked like they were dressed in casual type clothes," Roberts said.
Officials say alcohol may have been a factor in this incident.
"There were no PFDs or life jackets found, either floating in the water, on the victims that were recovered, or in the boat itself that was brought to shore," Roberts said.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will be handling this investigation.
NOTE: This Mill Lake is a part of Lake Beulah. It is not the same Mill Lake that is part of the Lauderdale Lakes in southern Walworth County.
PHOTO GALLERY:
Jason Roberts with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources offers these safety tips for anyone planning to enjoy Wisconsin’s natural resources – notably activities around ice or open water -- during the winter.
If you do go on the ice:
If you go through the ice:
For more tips, the DNR also has information on its website about what to do should you fall through the ice and how to make ice claws.