Wayzata Teenager Died While Trying To Save Friend

WAYZATA, Minn. (WCCO) -- A Wayzata teenager died trying to save a friend who was struggling in a northern Minnesota river.

Cook County rescue crews found Alec Lawrenz's body on Monday near the gorge at Temperance River State Park. The 18-year-old had just graduated from Benilde-St. Margaret's High School in St. Louis Park.

"He really taught me how to live, I am the person I am because of him. I look at the world the way I look at it because of him," Adam Eldred said.

Eldred and Lawrenz became friends their freshman year at Benilde-St. Margaret's. The two were in a band together, they wrote and created music.

"He had this energy that you kind of wanted to be a part of, like anything he was doing you knew it was going to be fantastic and you kind of wanted to be a part of it," Eldred said.

Eldred said Lawrenz participated in school theater productions and he made films with fellow students, acting in some of them.

"He was so talented. He's the most talented person I've ever met. He saw the world with the wisdom that the rest of us can only dream of really," Eldred said.

Lawrenz and three friends were on their way back from camping on Saturday when they stopped to swim in the Temperance River on the North Shore. A friend told WCCO one of the teens started to struggle in the water. That's when Lawrenz jumped in to help. The 18-year-old never resurfaced.

"The grief is just so tangible, you can feel it," Eldred said.

Eldred believes Lawrenz's kindness and gifts will continually stay with those who knew him.

"When people die young you often think, 'Oh there was so much they could have done.' But I feel like every moment he was alive he lived it to the absolute fullest. He lived such a full life in the short time he was here," Eldred said.

Eldred and Lawrenz were going to attend McGill University in Montreal in the fall. Lawrenz is the middle brother of three.

There is a visitation for him on Sunday, followed by his funeral on Monday.