Authorities ID drowning victims in Vermillion River near Red Wing
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Authorities have identified the three people who died earlier this week while swimming in the Vermillion River near Red Wing, Minn.
The Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner’s office said the victims are 17-year old Petrona Juan-Jose, 22-year old Miguel Juan-Jose and 41-year old Ke Drer.
The swimmers were part of a family gathering at Diamond Island on the Vermillion River, near the confluence with the Mississippi River, the Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office reported earlier this week. All were from the same household in Oakdale, Minn.
Drer was fishing along the shore on Monday when two adults and a girl who were swimming began to struggle in the water. He went in to help, and rescued his adult daughter.
But he went underwater while trying to rescue the other two. The sheriff’s office said none of them came back up.
Their bodies were recovered at about 7 a.m. Wednesday morning. They were all inexperienced swimmers and were not wearing life jackets. They were swimming in an area that was 3 feet deep but sharply drops off to around 9 feet.
According to brief obituaries for all three, funeral services will be held on July 14 at 11 a.m. at K'Nyaw Baptist Church in St. Paul.
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