ST. CLOUD – Authorities identified the 17-year-old who drowned Tuesday at a popular swimming spot near St. Cloud as Emmanuel Seward Jr. of Brooklyn Center.
Authorities ID 17-year-old who drowned after jumping off cliff near St. Cloud
Emmanuel Seward of Brooklyn Center jumped off a 10-foot cliff at Quarry Park and never resurfaced.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
July 11, 2024 at 5:38PM
According to the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office, authorities received a 911 call just before 4:30 p.m. Tuesday about a possible drowning at Quarry Park and Nature Preserve in Waite Park. Witnesses told responders the boy had jumped off a 10-foot cliff and never resurfaced.
Members of the Stearns/Benton dive team, along with fire departments from Waite Park and St. Cloud, deployed boats and searched the quarry. Seward was found in 31 feet of water at about 8:45 p.m.
The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death to be accidental drowning.
“Our little baseball program won’t be the same without you,” Brooklyn Center High School baseball coach Kevin Pitman posted to Facebook on Thursday.
Pitman wrote that Seward, called “E-Man,” had a trademark smirk and energy he brought wherever he went.
“Sets a PR in the weight room, that smirk. Sacks the quarterback or cranks a ball into the gap, that smirk. Cheddar Ruffles, smirk. Joking with friends, smirk. Caused a little mischief, smirk,” Pitman wrote. “I will always remember E-Man with that smile on his face.”
Seward, who would have been a senior this fall at Brooklyn Center High School, also played football.
Two other young men also drowned at the county park in the past three years. There are no lifeguards at the park’s swimming areas.
The winners will be honored Sept. 26 and each will receive a $7,500 grant to give to a nonprofit of their choice.
