lake panorama sailboat logoAs previously reported by Raccoon Valley Radio, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is investigating a drowning at Lake Panorama Saturday morning.

According to DNR Communications Director Alex Murphy, around 11:00 a.m. Saturday, DNR received a call of a man in the water that was unresponsive. Through the investigation it was determined that Ashton Maier, 19, of Grimes, was kayaking with friends when he somehow exited his kayak and went under the water and didn’t resurface for some time.

When bystanders found his body, they performed CPR until paramedics arrived and took over; he was then taken by air ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, where he died on Saturday evening.

When Maier was found, he was not wearing a personal flotation device; however, he did have a personal flotation device within his kayak. The DNR urges everyone to wear personal flotation devices while on the water.

Raccoon Valley Radio will update this story with new information as soon as it becomes official.