Crane Lake drowning victim identified

CRANE LAKE— William Rebarich, 50, of Embarrass was identified Monday as the man who drowned in Crane Lake Sunday while diving to help recover a sunken piece of machinery in about 70 feet of water.

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The initial news release was as follows:

A 50-year-old Embarrass man drowned in Crane Lake around noon Sunday despite exhaustive medical efforts on scene, a St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office news release said.

The man, trained as a SCUBA diver but not affiliated with any recovery or salvage company, was assisting a group of people in recovering a piece of sunken machinery in approximately 70 feet of water. The equipment recovery operation was based off of a barge that was going to be used to transport the sunken equipment back to shore.

During the course of the operation, after a period of time underwater, the diver failed to resurface. Rescue efforts began by those on scene, along with area first responders who had arrived to assist. The victim was subsequently transported to shore, however despite medical efforts on scene, the victim was pronounced dead.

The victim’s name is being withheld pending notification of family members and will be released at a later time.

The incident, reported around 12:15 p.m., and cause of death remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office was assisted on scene by the Voyageurs National Park Service Rangers, Orr Ambulance, Orr Fire Department, Crane Lake Fire Department, St. Louis County Rescue Squad, MN DNR, and North Memorial air medical.