Teenage boy drowns at Sheboygan Quarry
Tuesday's incident is the 14th drowning since 1953
SHEBOYGAN — First responders have located the body of a teenager who drowned Tuesday afternoon at Jaycee Quarry Park.
The Sheboygan Fire Department received a report of a drowning victim last seen in the water at the quarry on Calumet Drive shortly after 2 PM on Tuesday, July 15th. Firefighters arrived on scene within four minutes of being dispatched and deployed rescue swimmers within two minutes after their arrival. “A coordinated search pattern in the last seen area was completed without success,” said Fire Chief Eric Montellano. “Three rescue swimmers conducted an extensive water search while additional shore-based teams managed incident command and provided logistical support.”
Upon arrival of Sheboygan County Dive Team, additional divers were deployed to expand underwater search efforts in conjunction with the Sheboygan Fire Department. After approximately 90 minutes of continuous rescue efforts, the incident transitioned to a recovery operation according to Montellano. Both the Wisconsin DNR and Milwaukee Fire Department responded to the scene with Sonar equipment.
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The search resumed Wednesday morning. Around 12 PM, divers located the body of the victim. At a press conference held some 35 minutes later, Montellano was joined by Assistant Police Chief Douglas Teunissen and City Administrator Casey Bradley. Montellano said witnesses reported the victim had jumped into the 40-feet deep quarry. “Since we’ve been here, there has been an outpouring of support coming from the community,” added Teunissen.
The 13-year-old boy, who has not yet been identified, is the 14th drowning victim at the quarry since 1953. The last drowning occurred when 19-year-old Johny Kue of Manitowoc was swimming with friends on May 15th, 1991. Sheboygan County Circuit Judge Edward Stengel threw out a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family. Kue's family said the city was negligent. In August 1988, 5-year-old Eric Pelky lost his life at the quarry. In July 1985, 17-year-olds Brian L. Marquardt and Trent Bennett had drowned there in one week.
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