Medical officials identified the body recovered in Lake Mendota Friday as that of a recent University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate.
Twenty-two-year-old Matthew Roelse graduated from the Wisconsin School of Business in May 2012, according to a UW-Madison news release.
“Our community is deeply saddened by the news of Matthew’s premature passing, and our hearts go out to his family and friends during this difficult time,” School of Business dean François Ortalo-Magné said in a statement.
As an active member of Sigma Iota Epsilon business fraternity, UW-Madison’s cross country ski team and frisbee team, Roelse was a model student, athlete and graduate, according to the release.
“He epitomized the hard work ethic, lifelong quest for knowledge and virtuous ethos for which Wisconsin graduates are recognized worldwide,” Ortalo-Magné said in the statement.
Madison Police Department officer Howard Payne said the Dane County Sheriff’s department dive team recovered the body at 10:27 a.m. near the 600 block of North Lake Street and Lake Mendota.
The Dane County Medical Examiner’s office said findings from an autopsy were consistent with drowning, according to police. Testing and the investigation are continuing.
According to a city of Madison news release, Roelse was swimming with a female friend in Lake Mendota when he became distressed. His friend attempted to help him back to shore but lost sight of him after he went under the water. She swam to shore by herself and called 911 at 2:46 a.m.
Madison Fire Department spokesperson Lori Wirth said the fire department’s Lake Rescue Team was dispatched to the scene with a fire engine and ambulance shortly after the woman’s 911 call.
Wirth said the fire department dive team searched the waters for approximately three hours where Roelse was last seen but had problems because of algae, thick weeds and the lack of sunlight.
“It was very difficult to see anything under the water,” Wirth said.
Police officers tried unsuccessfully to locate Roelse by searching nearby sailboats, the city news release said.
Police officers searched the shoreline to see if Roelse had made it back to shore but only found his clothes, according to Wirth.
The fire department handed the incident over to the Dane County Sheriff’s Department just before 7:00 a.m., essentially switching the purpose of the diving operations from rescue to recovery.
“The mission of our lake rescue team is rescue,” Wirth said. “[The Sheriff’s Department] has a recovery team that does diving specifically for the purpose of finding someone who is presumed drowned.”
