By Sarah Klein
A casual swimming race Sunday afternoon has led to the drowning of a young man at Moose Lake Provincial Park.
A 22-year-old male challenged another male to see who could make it to the markers that surround the beach first, RCMP say.
Upon reaching the markers — which are located about 15 meters from shore in 8 feet of water — the man was exhausted and could not swim back or keep his head above water. He subsequently went under, and was located approximately 15 minutes later by other people on the unsupervised beach. Efforts to revive the man using CPR were not successful.
RCMP’s Sprague detachment responded at 3 p.m. and say alcohol is not a factor in the incident.
Moose Lake is located roughly 200 km southeast of Winnipeg.
UPDATE: Monday, July 5 — The victim has been identified as Shane Christofferson of the RM of Piney, Manitoba.
