An 18-year-old junior college football player drowned while swimming with others in a northern Minnesota lake over the weekend, authorities said.
Sean W. Giles, of Detroit, a second-year student at Vermilion Community College, had been swimming Monday afternoon with several friends when he went underwater near a boat landing on the north side of Miners Lake in Ely, according to the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office.
Giles, who played defensive end, was swimming after practice, a friend on Facebook said. Others from the team were there.
A rescue squad pulled Giles out of the water roughly 20 minutes later and began lifesaving efforts before he was taken to a hospital in Ely, where he was declared dead, the Sheriff's Office said.
Shawn Bina, provost for the 560-student school, said that Giles "became part of the Ely community and stayed over the summer" after the end of the previous school year.
Between school years Giles worked at the college, and at the Rockwood restaurant and Front Porch coffee shop.
"There is a lot of shock among students and teammates," Bina said. "Sean was known as a happy and confident young man. There always was a smile on his face."
His former coach at River Rouge High School, Corey Parker, wrote on Facebook and described Giles as "one of mine ... what a great kid."
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
