FAIRFIELD —
A Batavia man drowned at Bonnifield Lake Thursday night.
At approximately 6:58 p.m. Thursday, a 911 call was made to the Jefferson County Law Center for the Fairfield Fire and Police departments to respond to a drowning at the Bonnifield Lake Beach.
According to witnesses, Jesse Harl, 31, of Batavia, was swimming beyond the designated swimming area near the alligator — a marker in the water past the buoys — with a young girl.
Harl became a “distressed swimmer” and another swimmer retrieved the young girl, taking her to safety.
“He was swimming out with a young girl and was showing her the alligator marker,” said Fairfield Fire Capt. Jeff Six. “He got out there and got tired or something, and he immediately was getting people’s attention because he was having trouble.”
Six said others in the area tried to make it out to Harl, but he went under the water’s surface, and they were unable to locate him.
The Fairfield Police and Fire departments responded and began searching for Harl, locating him shortly after 8 p.m. Harl’s body was later transported to the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s office for a determination of the cause of death, pending autopsy.
“He was under some type of exhaustion or a cramp, we have no idea what really happened, that’s why the medical examiner is involved in this,” Six said.
Bonnifield Lake remains closed until further notice. It is usually open for swimming from dawn to dusk. The lake is a “swim at your own risk” area, and no lifeguards are present.
The general swimming area out to the buoys is 6-7 feet deep, Six said, but past that it doubles or triples and was 15-20 feet deep where Harl and the girl were swimming by the alligator marker, which floats 25 to 30 yards past the buoys.
Southeast Iowa
Name released in Fairfield drowning
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