Aitkin County Drowning: 20-Year-Old Htoo Shwe Identified as Victim of Minnesota Canoeing Accident
A tragic canoeing accident on Wolf Lake in Aitkin County, Minnesota, claimed the life of a 20-year-old St. Paul man on Saturday night. According to the Aitkin County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched to Savanna Portage State Park around 9 p.m. after receiving a report of a missing canoer.
Rescue teams, including a diving unit, arrived within twenty minutes and recovered the body of Htoo Shwe from the lakebed. Authorities confirmed that neither of the men was wearing a life jacket at the time of the incident, and both had been consuming alcohol.
The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office officially ruled Shwe’s cause of death as freshwater drowning. This tragic incident adds to the growing number of drownings in Minnesota’s lakes this year, with at least six cases reported as of July, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Also Read: Grant Beyer Death & Obituary: Buffalo, NY Resident Killed in New York Route 33 Car Accident
The accident occurred while Shwe was canoeing with his cousin, who had called 911 after their canoe capsized, sending both men into the water. Shwe, in a state of panic, dove beneath the surface while attempting to swim back to shore, but tragically did not survive.