The body of a 16-year-old Madison, Nebraska, boy was recovered from Lake Yankton at about 8:30 p.m. on July 4 by first responders from Nebraska and South Dakota.
At 3:22 p.m., the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call of a juvenile male drowning at the lake. Five Nebraska conservation officers responded, along with a Cedar County Sheriff’s deputy, U. S. Corps of Engineers park rangers and South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks conservation officers.
It was determined the boy had tried to float across the lake from the swimming beach on an inflatable flotation device. Witnesses reported that when the boy tried to stand on the recreational floatation device, he lost his balance, fell off and did not resurface. A personal flotation device was not present.
Search and rescue efforts included deploying boats equipped with side-scan sonar and deployment of drones.
Nebraska conservation officers were assisted with recovery efforts by Cedar County Sheriff’s Office, Nebraska State Patrol, South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, Yankton County EMS), Yankton County Sheriff’s Office, Yankton Search and Rescue, Minnehaha County Search and Rescue Dive Team, Davison County Search and Rescue Dive Team, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Cedar County Emergency Management, Yankton County Emergency Management, and Wing Air Rescue.
Lake Yankton is located on the border of Nebraska and South Dakota near Gavin’s Point Dam and is managed by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers.