July 7 (UPI) — The three children who died last week when a severe storm capsized their boat were found within the sunken vessel, authorities said in an update to the investigation.
The boat quickly sank Friday in Wisconsin’s Geneva Lake after it was hit that afternoon by a sudden storm that swept across Walworth County with winds between 90 and 100 mph.
Six adults and four children were aboard the private 25-foot boat. All adults and one child were rescued. An extensive search was launched for the three missing children, whom the Lake Geneva Police Department initially said were located and recovered from the lake and were pronounced dead after lifesaving measures were administered.
All four children were wearing properly fitted life jackets.
The local police department identified the three victims Monday in a statement as girls ages 6, 7 and 10. Authorities said divers located the three children inside the boat that had sunk to a depth of 32 feet.
Divers were able to free the children and bring them to the surface where emergency personnel performed lifesaving measures as they were transported to local medical facilities, it said.
“Despite these exhaustive efforts, all three children were later pronounced deceased,” the police department said.
The preliminary cause of death is consistent with freshwater drowning, it said, adding that preliminary medical information indicates that none of the children suffered external injuries.
The Geneva Lake Law Enforcement Agency said it “extends its deepest, most heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and everyone affected by this heartbreaking tragedy.”
The severe storm hit at about 12:18 p.m. CDT Friday, causing widespread power outages and damage throughout the region. City emergency staff responded to more than 100 calls for service during the initial period of the storm, the city said.
It also caused a number of boats to capsize, prompting the deployment of responders to rescue people from the water, all of whom were saved except for the three girls, according to police.
Authorities said the 47-year-old operator of the doomed boat attempted to seek safe harbor as conditions on the water rapidly deteriorated, and after failing to do so turned the vessel into the wind as his training instructed him.
Two large waves broke over the boat’s bow, causing the vessel to take on water and list to one side, with a third wave forcing it to roll over and capsize. Officials said its occupants were thrown into the water and then the boat quickly sank.
Responders then rescued the six adults and the sole child survivor.
Authorities on Monday identified the survivors as a 75-year-old man, a 73-year-old woman, a 49-year-old woman, a 46-year-old man, a 44-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy.
Police said the boat’s occupants were from Batavia and Wheaton. Ill., and Fontana, Wis.
The names of the survivors and the victims were being withheld out of respect for the family, the Lake Geneva Police Department said.
Lake Geneva is located near the Wisconsin-Illinois border and about 50 miles southwest of Milwaukee.
