Law enforcement investigating the drowning of an Albert Lea man
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(ABC 6 News) – Authorities are investigating the death of 66-year-old Matthew Anderson.
They said he may have suffered a medical emergency at Edgewater Park on Thursday morning.
People heard him yell for help but by the time they got to him, he disappeared under the water.
The Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office said Anderson was trying to load his pontoon at a boat ramp at the park when he somehow ended up in the water.
“We’re not sure exactly what that was, if he slipped and fell, if he dove in because it started to float away, it’s also possible there’s a medical issue that happened,” Freeborn County sheriff Ryan Shea said.
Authorities are still investigating the death of 66-year-old Matthew Anderson. They said he may have suffered a medical emergency at Edgewater Park. People heard him yell for help but by the time they got to him he'd disappeared under the water.
A nearby homeowner heard Anderson screaming for help and jumped on his pontoon and drove it over to where Anderson was to try to help.
“He immediately dove in but when he came back up, he could no longer see the victim,” Shea said.
A MnDNR officer was on the lake and also arrived on scene almost immediately.
Soon, the sheriff’s office and local police and fire departments were all searching as well.
“We had 3 boats on the lake between the MnDNR, the sheriff’s office, and the fire department,” Shea said.
Searchers used what’s called side imaging technology.
Beams scan the area under the water giving searchers up above a look at the lake below.
After about an hour, Anderson was found in about eight and a half feet of water.
It was too late to save him and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
“We’re not really sure what led him to be in the water in the first place, so it’s tough to say how anything could’ve been prevented,” Shea said.