Boy, 3, Alive After 75 Minutes Submerged in Quarry

A toddler fell into a water-filled quarry and remained submerged for 75 minutes before divers found him, but the child survived and was hospitalized Monday in critical condition, officials said.

Joseph Keller, 3, slipped into the water around noon Sunday while playing with his brother, Nicholas, 5, near a boat landing of the former Iron Range mining pit, which was turned into a recreational lake several years ago.

“The parents were not there and the kids were not supposed to be there either,” Deputy James McKenzie said. “But, as kids will do, they were satisfying their curiosity and were playing near the water. The younger boy slipped into the water and the older boy tried to rescue him.”

A man who was launching his boat nearby said he saw the older boy face down in the water and rescued him.

“I just stopped the truck and ran out into the water and jumped in and grabbed him,” Dan Derickson said. “He was about 12 feet off shore.”

Nicholas was pulled from the water unconscious and was quickly revived, but Joseph remained submerged for more than an hour before divers from the St. Louis County sheriff’s office found him in the murky, 46-degree water.

“He was not breathing when he was recovered,” McKenzie said. “He was not breathing in the ambulance. By the time he was transferred (to a Minneapolis hospital) he had obtained a steady heart rhythm.”

Joseph was listed in critical but stable condition Monday at the University of Minnesota Hospital, but hospital officials refused to release details of his condition.

“I was told by doctors and ambulance people yesterday that people in the past in cold water submersion have been able to survive after one or two hours (under water),” McKenzie said. “The doctors told me yesterday that, if this child lives, they thought it would be some sort of record. We estimate he spent approximately 75 minutes submerged.”

Nicholas was reported in good condition.