Devin McCauley’s Facebook page is chock full of the thoughts and photos of a young man with plans and dreams for his future. One photo even reads, “Life is an Adventure.”
Sadly, those plans and dreams will never be realized, because the 21-year-old East Ridge High School graduate drowned while swimming in a deep pond outside of Faribault on July 4.
According to Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn, McCauley was swimming in a private pond with friends when the accident occurred. The swimmers were using water rafts and a zip line on the pond.
“He had just done the zip line and was swimming in,” Dunn said. “His friends heard him call out, ‘Help,’ and then he was gone.”
That was around 5:15 p.m. McCauley’s friends immediately called 911, Dunn said. They were searching for him when emergency personnel arrived nine minutes later, Dunn said.
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The Rice County Sheriff’s Department water patrol and dive team, Faribault Fire and Rescue, and North Ambulance responded to the scene.
Divers found McCauley nearly an hour after he had gone under water. Visibility in the water was poor, Dunn said. In the area where McCauley was found, staff could only see about two feet down into the pond. The pond, at that point, is 14 feet deep.
“That pond is adjacent to the Cannon River,” Dunn said. “We’ve never had any calls there before or issues like this. It just looks like a tragic accident.”
Emergency personnel attempted to resuscitate McCauley, but were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office is conducting the autopsy.
A 2013 graduate of East Ridge High School, McCauley was enrolled in the Music Education K-12 Vocal/Instrumental program at Concordia University.
