A 17-year-old drowned in the Grant River Saturday afternoon after diving headfirst off of a riverbank. The Grant County Sheriff’s Office reports Lynn Zimmerman of Livingston was canoeing with friends and family. Some members of the group stopped near a riverbank about 5 miles east of Cassville to go swimming. Zimmerman reportedly dove headfirst into the water. Witnesses told law enforcement that Zimmerman resurfaced after a couple of seconds before sinking back under the water.
Officials say a couple people from the group paddled down river to Pigeon River Road where they got out, went to a nearby home and called for help. Crews responded to the scene about 2:45 on Saturday. Roughly an hour after arriving at the scene, emergency crews located Zimmerman’s body at the bottom of the river where he had previously gone under. Zimmerman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Multiple emergency crews assisted at the scene, including departments from Cassville, Bloomington, Glen Haven and Bagley. Also Grant County Emergency Management and members of Southwest Wisconsin’s swift water rescue team responded to the scene.
