Breaking News - February 20, 2010

Three people drowned in rural Paderbern yesterday

The initial report is that two boys fell through the ice of a lake near the home of John and Kathy Baxmeyer off of Loehr Road near Club Congress. Kathy Baxmeyer, 40, their youngest son, Kadin, and a friend of the son, Steven “Austin” Baum,  were pronounced dead by a St. Clair County Coroner early Saturday morning. They are believed to have entered the water sometime Friday evening.

Kadin was celebrating his seventh birthday yesterday and had a friend over. Before leaving, they went to play outside for a little. When Kathy came out to leave for the movie she could not locate the boys and determined they fell through the ice at the lake. It appears that she went into the lake in an attempt to save them.

John Baxmeyer arrived home before 8 p.m. and noticed no one home and became concerned when he saw his wife’s car still home. He began calling around to family and friends in an attempt to locate them. The county deputies were then called to begin the investigation. Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies and their K-9 unit were soon on the scene, as well as St. Clair County deputies and the Hecker Volunteer Fire Department. Sari the dog was soon able to pick up a scent near the edge of the water and scuba divers from the Smithton and Swansea Fire Departments were dispatched. The divers were able to locate all three bodies in about 12-feet of waterloo. The were pronounced dead at the scene by the St. Clair County Coroner just after 3:30 a.m. this morning. They were taken to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Belleville where an autopsy is being conducted today.

“Although initial indications and evidence point to a tragic accident where three people fell through ice and drowned, we are in the process of conducting a thorough death investigation,” Capt. Steve Johnson, chief investigator of the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, “Sheriff’s investigators, the coroner’s office and State Police Crime Scene personnel are working closely together to investigate this incident. This is a sad reminder of the dangers of children and ice covered lakes. Our hearts go out to the victims’ families.”