2 missing boys found dead in Minnesota lake
WILLMAR, Minn. -- Two young boys who had been missing since going out to play after dinner were found dead hours later in a Minnesota lake, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.
The bodies of Idris Hussein, 10, and Ahmed Sahane Hashi, 11, were found at about 10 p.m. Tuesday, submerged in shallow water near the entrance to the Kandiyohi County Fairgrounds, Willmar Police Chief Jim Felt said. Emergency medical technicians tried to revive the boys, but they were pronounced dead at Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar.
Felt said there was no reason to suspect foul play.
Kandiyohi County sheriff's deputies and Willmar police officers used search dogs to look for the boys after they were reported missing about 6 p.m. Police posted photos of the boys on social media and urged local citizens to search their property.
Felt said one boy had been visiting the home of the other near Foot Lake and the fairgrounds.
"The parents were cleaning up after dinner and the boys went outside to play," Felt said. "They live within a couple blocks of this boat access."
When the parents went outside to find the boys, there was no sign of them. They scoured the neighborhood and found one of the boys' shoes in the lake and called 911, Felt said.
The boys' families called relatives and friends to help search for the children.
"Our hope was that with all the emergency responders (on scene) they thought they were in trouble and were hiding," Felt said.
When the boys couldn't be located, Felt said the search focused more intensely on the lake, using sonar and drag lines.
When crews learned the boys couldn't swim, they become concerned, CBS Minnesota reported.
Felt said crews faced some challenges in searching for the boys. The lake water was murky and crews were losing daylight as they searched, CBS Minnesota reported.
"The whole community is grieving about this," Felt said. "It's affected our emergency responders, it's affected everyone in the community, and we just ask for the thoughts and prayers for the family at this time."
The boys were students at Kennedy Elementary School in Willmar.