Body of fourth Illinois man recovered after Wisconsin canoe accident

The body of a fourth former New Trier student was found Friday after a canoe capsized in a lake in southern Wisconsin last weekend.

Patrick M. Weitzel, 21, was the last of four men who was found in the Mill Lake area of Lake Beulah in East Troy, Wisconsin, according to Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources recreational safety warden Jason Roberts.

The four men were staying at a lake house with friends when they stepped outside to have a cigarette around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, Roberts said. The others went to bed, and when they woke up about 10 a.m., they noticed the four weren’t in their beds.

The group searched and saw footprints leading down to the boathouse, where the canoe was missing, Roberts said. They walked down to the water, saw the canoe overturned against an ice shelf and called 911.

Dive teams responded and within a few hours, bodies of two men were found on the lake bed, Roberts said. A third body was recovered Monday afternoon.

Authorities have identified the three other three victims as Christopher J. McQuillen, 21; Lanny Patrick Sack, 20; and Mori Wienstein, 21.

The search was made challenging due to about 2 inches of ice over the lake, Roberts said. Airboats were used to break up the ice and allow the rescue boat to navigate.

“It is with immeasurable grief that we learned yesterday of the boating-accident deaths of four young men,” according to a statement from New Trier Township High School District 203.

“From information received at this point, it appears that all attended New Trier Township High School for all or part of their high school years. Our deepest condolences are extended to the families and friends as they cope with this tragic loss,” according to the statement.

One of the four men, McQuillen, was previously a student at Northern Illinois University, according to university spokesman Brad Hoey. He was last enrolled in spring 2015.

“We are deeply saddened by news of the past weekend’s tragic boating accident. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and all who were close to the young men involved in the accident,” Hoey said.

East Troy is village of about 4,280 people located about 37 miles southwest of Milwaukee.