A 43-year-old man died after falling from a paddleboard into Ely Lake while out on the water with his daughter in Fayal Township, Minnesota.
St Louis County sheriff’s deputies and officers from the Eveleth Police Department were called to the lake at about 7.10pm on Tuesday, 1 September 2026, following reports of a possible drowning. Ely Lake is around five miles south of Eveleth.
Authorities said the man became unresponsive after entering the water. His daughter managed to pull him towards the shore, where nearby lake residents helped bring him out and began CPR.
Emergency responders continued efforts to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. The sheriff’s office said neither the man nor his daughter was wearing a life jacket.
Ely Lake drowning investigation
The man’s identity has not been released while his family is notified. The St Louis County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident, with the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office expected to establish the cause of death.
