Teen Drowns Saving Brother and Cousin on Lake Madison

Somber kudos to journalist Elisa Sand of the Madison Daily Leader for getting the details on the drowning at Lake Madison, a hard story to cover, but well worth her special Sunday coverage. According to the police, the drowning victim, 18-year-old Dylan Nelson, likely gave his life saving his brother and his cousin:

Deputy Tim Walburg of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said that Nelson and two others had decided to go swimming at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The family was tubing near Walker's Point. Walburg said that the three young men got stuck in the undercurrent and ran into trouble. Nelson was able to get the other two boys to shore. A man on a jet ski also helped with their rescue, but when he went back to the area, he lost sight of Nelson. The two younger males, Nelson's brother Andrew and a cousin from Lake Preston, were taken to the hospital.

Authorities say that fatigue from saving the other boys is likely what caused Nelson to go under, unable to fight the undercurrent, which is caused by a quick drop in water level.

[Elisa Sand, "Teen Drowns in Lake Madison," Madison Daily Leader, Sunday, August 9, 2009]