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Body Of Man Who Drowned Trying To Rescue Swimmer Found In Lake Minnetonka

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Authorities say that they've recovered the body of a man who was reportedly trying to help a struggling swimmer at Lake Minnetonka.

The man had been missing since Thursday evening. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office says he and two women went into the water to help a woman who fell into the lake from a pontoon.

Investigators say the three women were able to make it back aboard the pontoon, but the man did not.

On Monday afternoon, an underwater recovery team found the man's body in about 55 feet of water.

"Every drowning death is a tragedy," said Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson. "It's especially sad when someone loses their life attempting to save another. Our sincerest condolences go out to the friends and family."

Chef Christina Nguyen, of northeast Minneapolis restaurant Hai Hai, announced on Instagram Monday that the victim is a man named DJ, who served there as sous chef. She described him as "big-hearted, kind ... and a chef that put soul into whatever he cooked."

Deveric DJ Stokes. Lake Minnetonka Drowning Victim
(credit: Christina Nguyen/Instagram)
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