A sunny Sunday afternoon family outing at Patterson Lake in Dickinson has left a young boy dead.
Stark County Sheriff Clarence Tuhy said three-year-old Jordis Hunter Peterschick, believed to be of Dickinson, was reported missing Sunday afternoon and found drowned about two hours later in the south side of the lake.
Tuhy said the call of a missing boy was initially treated as a child abduction. Stark County Emergency Management then sent out reverse 911 calls to notify residents in the area of the missing child.
"We heard from one of the kid's down there that he (Jordis) got into a pickup and the pickup took off so we were trying to treat it like an abducted child but it turned out to be a drowning," Tuhy said.
Tuhy said the incident is still under investigation as it is not exactly known if the child was left unattended near the water or in a vehicle.
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"The kids were playing and my understanding is the parents were out there playing too and swimming and all of a sudden the child was missing and later found in about two to three feet of water," Tuhy said.
Several agencies assisted in the search and recovery, including the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, the Dickinson Police Department, Dickinson Rural Fire Department's Rescue Squad and Dive Team, Dickinson Ambulance Service and the Stark County Sheriff's Office.
