Bodies of 3 missing swimmers recovered from Minnesota river

By The Associated Press

(MGN)

RED WING, Minn. (AP) — The bodies of three people who drowned in a Minnesota river were found by search crews Wednesday after going missing over the Fourth of July weekend.

The names of the two men and a girl have not been released, however the Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office says all three were from the same household in Oakdale, a suburb of St. Paul.

The swimmers were part of a family gathering Monday night at Diamond Island on the Vermillion River, near the confluence with the Mississippi River, southeast of the Twin Cities.

Two bodies were found in the Mississippi at 6:53 a.m. and the third about 12 minutes later, Sheriff Marty Kelly said Wednesday.

A man was fishing along the shore while two adults and the girl were swimming, according to the sheriff’s office.

All three swimmers began to struggle in the water and the man on the shore went in to help. He rescued an adult woman, then went back into the water to try and save the others.

The sheriff’s office said both men and the girl went under the water and never came back up.