Stanton, Nebraska – The Lindsay area community faced a distressing event over the weekend as a 4-year-old local boy suffered a near-drowning at Maskenthine Lake and had to be rapidly transported to an Omaha hospital for emergency medical attention.
Sheriff Mike Unger from Stanton County, together with two deputies, were among the first respondents to the distressing incident. The incident took place around 4:45 p.m., and the team promptly began administering emergency aid to the unconscious child.
Emergency medical teams from both Stanton Rescue and Pilger EMS also swiftly arrived at the scene. They managed to stabilize the young boy’s condition enough to permit his urgent airlift by a medical helicopter. He was then flown to Children’s Hospital located in Omaha.
Subsequent investigation into the event revealed that the young boy, who had removed his life jacket, was submerged underwater for a brief duration. Fortunately, an observant adult saw him struggling and quickly pulled him from the water.
Following this incident, the beach area at Maskenthine Lake was temporarily closed by the NRD staff in a respectful acknowledgement of the incident.
Maskenthine Lake has sadly been a site of tragedy over the past 35 years, with six recorded fatal drownings. This includes the unfortunate death of an adult male in the late 1990s at the same beach swimming area.
