RED WING, Minn. (AP) — Authorities have identified three people who drowned in a tributary of the Mississippi River near Red Wing over the Fourth of July weekend.
The Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner’s office said Thursday that the victims were Petrona Juan-Jose, 17, Miguel Juan-Jose, 22, and Ke Drer, 41. All were from the same household in the St. Paul suburb of Oakdale.
The swimmers were part of a family gathering at Diamond Island on the Vermillion River, near the confluence with the Mississippi River. Drer was fishing from shore Monday when two adults and a girl who were swimming began to struggle. He went in to help, and rescued his adult daughter. But he went underwater while trying to rescue the other two. Searchers recovered their bodies Wednesday.
“Our community is devastated by this tragic loss and we asked that you pray for us and the family for a special strength comes from God,” the K’Nyaw Baptist Church in St. Paul, which serves the Karen community, said in a Facebook post.
The victims were all described as inexperienced swimmers who weren’t wearing personal flotation gear. They were all in an area of the river that was 3 feet deep but drops off to around 9 feet.