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Boat capsizes leaving 1 dead

3 ISU students rescued, 1 missing; search will resume today at Little Wall Lake

JEWELL — Divers will resume their search today for a member of the Iowa State University Crew Club who remains missing after a boat capsized in Little Wall Lake Sunday morning.

Another member of the club died and three others were rescued, according to a statement from the university.

The three who were rescued were treated at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames and were released.

The body of the club member who died was recovered by a dive team, the university reported.

None of the individuals were identified by the university or local authorities as of Sunday evening.

“The Iowa State University community is heartbroken to learn of this tragic accident at Little Wall Lake,” university President Wendy Wintersteen said in a written statement. “At this time we are focused on providing support to club members, their families and friends. We ask that everyone keep them in their thoughts during this very difficult time.”

On behalf of the university, Wintersteen thanked the numerous emergency and law enforcement units involved in the rescue and recovery operation.

Crew is a rowing sport in which groups of two to eight people row a long narrow boat called a racing shell.

The web page for the club lists Little Wall Lake, which is in Little Wall Lake State Park in southern Hamilton County, as a regular practice location for the club. The university confirmed that club members were practicing there when their boat capsized.

Hamilton County 911 dispatchers received a report about the boat capsizing at 9:27 a.m. Sunday. A caller told dispatchers they could see five people in the water.

Hamilton County sheriff’s deputies; Ellsworth-Jewell-Stanhope police; Iowa State Patrol; Iowa State University police; firefighters from Stratford, Jewell, Gilbert and Ellsworth; a dive team from the Story County Sheriff’s Office; Hamilton County Conservation; Hamilton County Emergency Management; Webster County Emergency Management; and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources responded.

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