Rockton teen drowns at state park lake

LOVES PARK — Authorities in northern Illinois say a 17-year-old boy drowned after falling out of a canoe on Pierce Lake at Rock Cut State Park.

Loves Park Police Chief Jim Puckett says Mitchel Krause of Rockton was in the canoe with three other teens when it tipped over Tuesday afternoon about 100 yards from shore. The lake is about 10- to 12-feet deep in that area.

The Rockford Register Star reports that the other teens managed to swim to shore. Krause wasn't wearing a life jacket and couldn't make it. His body was later pulled from the lake by rescue workers.

The drowning is Winnebago County's third in two weeks. A 20-year-old died in the Rock River on June 4, and a 2-year-old drowned in a backyard pool on June 5.