Authorities have released the name of the 17-year-old boy who apparently drowned after diving into Pewaukee Lake early on June 29.
Messiah Beamon-Perry, a Hamilton School District student, was found dead in 8 feet of water by a Western Lakes Dive Team not long after a 911 call to police at 12:07 a.m. His friends told authorities that Perry had jumped into water near the lakefront fishing pier, located on the 200 block of West Wisconsin Avenue, and failed to resurface.
Village of Pewaukee police officers, the Pewaukee Fire Department and the dive team worked together to talk with the teen’s friends and search for Beamon-Perry.
So far, the investigation has revealed nothing more than an unfortunate swimming accident, in which alcohol was not a factor.
“There’s nothing suspicious at this time,” village Police Chief Timothy Heier said June 30 in a phone interview. “The victim and friends decided to go swimming off of the fishing pier after park hours. Everybody is cooperative. Everybody stayed around and called 911. So there is no issue other than people coming into a park to go swimming, with a terrible, tragic ending.”
The autopsy by the Waukesha County Medical Examiner was completed on June 30, but a report and the signing of a death certificate wasn’t expected for another five days, Heier said.
The school district also released Beamon-Perry’s name, accompanied by a statement noting his family’s deeper connection to area schools and discussing how parents might want to address the tragedy with their own children.
“Messiah would have been a senior at Hamilton High School this fall,” the district said in its statement. “His younger siblings attend Templeton Middle School and Marcy Elementary School. Based on the wishes of Messiah’s family, we are sharing this news today. We encourage you to discuss this news with your children if you feel it is appropriate.”
District officials acknowledged that it could be “a difficult conversation,” and suggested parents be straightforward with simple language, using the terms “death” or “died” and not euphemisms.
“Listen, acknowledge feelings, and be nonjudgmental,” the statement added. “A variety of feelings are normal. Be sensitive to each child’s experience, as there is no one right way to respond to a loss. Feelings and behaviors will vary across students and will change throughout the bereavement process.”
Some Facebook comments accompanying the Pewaukee Police Department’s Facebook post on the June 29 news release wondered aloud whether the weeds near the pier’s shoreline may have been a factor in Beamon-Perry’s drowning. However, Heier said the early investigation revealed no such concerns.
The tragedy was the second on Pewaukee Lake this year. On Jan. 25, a 61-year-old man fell into icy water when his UTV broke through the ice. That incident led to a public safety initiative intended to make people aware of the dangers of winter ice activities.
Contact reporter Jim Riccioli at james.riccioli@jrn.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Pewaukee Lake drowning victim identified as Hamilton High School student
Reporting by Jim Riccioli, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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