Father Who Died Trying To Save His Kids In Metro Lake Identified

FRIDLEY, MN — The man who died after trying to rescue his children from a lake in the north Twin Cities metro Sunday has been identified as Leland Michael Morris, 26, of Fridley.

Morris died from complications of "apparent" freshwater drowning, and the manner of death was an accident, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner ruled.

Just after 5 p.m., police and EMS crews responded to Moore Lake. Two children who were on flotation equipment were struggling to return to shore. Their father tried to swim out to help them, but he went under the water and did not resurface.

The children were rescued by their mother and other bystanders.

Police and EMS crews were unable to find the man, and divers with the Anoka County Sheriff's Office Marine Unit were called in. They quickly found the man underwater and unresponsive.
He was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he was declared deceased overnight.

The incident is among a series of water-related deaths in Minnesota amid June's extreme and unseasonable heat.

A 9-year-old boy died in an apparent drowning at a city pool in North Mankato Saturday. A 12-year-old boy died Tuesday after he was pulled from a closed Minneapolis pool Friday, authorities said.