Four people die on Minnesota lakes, rivers over the weekend

Updated: 10:10 p.m.

As people continue to flock to lakes and rivers to swim and boat for relief from the ongoing heat wave, it was a deadly weekend on Minnesota waters.

Aitkin County

A man died after falling off and being run over by a pontoon boat late Friday on a lake in Aitkin County. The operator of the boat was arrested and faces charges of boating while intoxicated.

The sheriff's office said it happened on Big Sandy Lake just before midnight. Others on the pontoon boat told authorities that 34-year-old Nathen Waldo of North Branch, Minn., had fallen off the bow of the boat as it was moving, and may have been struck by the boat's motor.

After hours of searching, Waldo's body was found Saturday afternoon in about 30 feet of water.

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The operator of the boat, a 34-year-old Maplewood man, is being held in the Aitkin County Jail pending formal charges.

Washington County

A 46-year-old man died Saturday afternoon after going missing while swimming in the St. Croix River near William O'Brien State Park.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office reported that Chandra Mohan Laghuvaram was on a family outing when he went missing in the river. Divers located Laghuvaram in about 8 feet of water; lifesaving efforts at the scene were not successful.

And on Sunday evening, a 9-year-old child died after being pulled from the waters of Carver Lake.

Woodbury police reported that emergency crews were dispatched to Carver Lake Park just after 6 p.m. on a report of a missing child who had last been seen near the water.

"Police officers immediately coordinated a search in the water as well as the surrounding grounds. A search line was formed and entered the water. After about 15 minutes the child was located by a Woodbury police officer who had dived under the water to perform a visual search, close to the end of the designated swim area," police reported in a news release.

First responders performed CPR at the scene; the child later died at Regions Hospital.

Stearns County

An 18-year-old St. Cloud man drowned Saturday night at Quarry Park in Waite Park.

The Stearns County Sheriff's Office said it received a report just after 8 p.m. that Zakariya Aden Odowa had jumped off a floating dock and never resurfaced. Firefighters and deputies initially used boats to try to find Odowa; a diver eventually located him in about 25 feet of water. Odowa later died at a hospital.

Anoka County

A young child was airlifted to a Twin Cities hospital Saturday night after being pulled from a pond in Ham Lake, Minn.

The Anoka County Sheriff's Office reported that the child was found unresponsive in the pond by family and friends at Lions Park at about 7 p.m. Those rescuers and first responders administered lifesaving measures until the child was taken to a hospital.

An update on the child's condition was not available as of Sunday evening.