Magnolia Smoak had barely gotten out of the car at Big Foot Beach Park when the sky turned on her family. “In the 10 minutes we hadn’t looked out over the water while we were taking things out of the car, it just completely changed,” she said. “It was terrifying. I mean, within seconds it was here.”
Out on Geneva Lake, a privately owned recreational boat was in trouble. Ten people were aboard, six adults and four children, when the storm hit on Friday afternoon. Investigators say the vessel was trying to reach safety as conditions worsened, but wind and waves overwhelmed it. It took on water, capsized and sank. Three of the children died.
The rescue
Walworth County Undersheriff Tom Hausner described the response at a news conference. “We were informed that a boat had overturned on Geneva Lake, and there were people in the water,” he said. Lake Geneva’s police boat and boats from the Geneva Lake Law Enforcement Agency went out, and seven people were pulled from the water: six adults and one child.
Three children were still missing. Searchers found and recovered them from the lake after an intensive effort, and lifesaving measures began at the scene and carried on with paramedics during transport to local medical facilities. All three were pronounced dead. TMJ4 reported that they had been wearing life jackets.
“Unfortunately, there were three fatalities of people who were not able to be rescued,” Hausner said. He added that he could not yet say who had been on the boat, and that names were being held until families had been notified.
A storm with little warning
Several people on the beach told TMJ4 the weather arrived faster than any alert. Smoak and others said no emergency notice reached their phones until the storm was already over the lake. Joseph Roberts, visiting from the Appleton area, called it “quite alarming” and said the wind started suddenly. “White caps everywhere on the water,” he said.
Authorities say alerts did go out during the storm. Hausner said his own phone buzzed with a warning while he was at home in the southwest part of the county.
Once the weather passed, emergency vehicles filled the shoreline. “We saw some, you know, police cars pull up, and then over the course of the next hour more and more,” Smoak said. Roberts said scuba divers had been working the area for a couple of hours. “Our hearts are all kinda broken and everybody here on the beach is just kinda stunned right now,” he said.
Hospitals in the area saw a surge of patients after the storm, and some went on diversion because of the number of injuries. Hausner offered condolences. “Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of those, not only of those people, but the people who are injured as a result of the storm,” he said.
Investigation and advice for boaters
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Geneva Lake Law Enforcement Agency are investigating together. Authorities said the circumstances remain under active investigation and that nothing further could be released. Both agencies extended condolences to the families and friends of those affected.
Law enforcement is asking boaters to check forecasts closely, watch for shifting conditions and head for safe harbor as soon as threatening weather approaches.
Sources
- 3 killed after boat capsizes off Big Foot Beach in Lake Geneva
- Three children killed on Geneva Lake during fast and dangerous Friday afternoon storm
