Boy Found Unresponsive in Hennepin County Lake Dies at Hospital

Jul 26

An 8-year-old boy died Friday evening following a drowning incident at Baker Park Reserve in Maple Plain.

Authorities say 8-year-old Karmon Conneh, of Brooklyn Center, was found unresponsive in the water near the south beach of Lake Independence on Thursday, July 24.

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Authorities say the boy was on a supervised field trip and was found by a teacher in about three feet of water.

Emergency responders with the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office Water Patrol, Three Rivers Park District Public Safety, and the Medina/Loretto Police Department responded to the scene and began lifesaving efforts.

Conneh was revived at the scene but had already suffered significant injuries from the freshwater drowning. He was transported to Children's Minnesota Hospital in Minneapolis, where he remained hospitalized overnight. He died the following evening.

The medical examiner ruled Conneh’s death was an accident caused by complications of cardiac arrest due to freshwater drowning.

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation. Authorities have not said whether lifeguards were present at the time.

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