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Man drowns after jumping into Patoka Lake to help rescue 2 people who fell off tube, officers confirm

Officers say 33-year-old Travis Ray St. Martin, of Racine, Wisconsin, jumped into the lake to help two people who fell off a tube.

CRAWFORD COUNTY, Ind. — A death investigation is being conducted after a man's apparent accidental drowning at Patoka Lake on Sunday evening, according to Indiana Conservation officers.

Officers say the body of 33-year-old Travis Ray St. Martin, of Racine, Wisconsin, was recovered by public safety divers around 7:34 p.m. He disappeared underwater around 2:51 p.m., that's when witnesses alert an officer on lake patrol to a possible drowning.

Officers determined two women aboard a towable tube affixed to a stationary rental boat fell off the tube and struggled to stay afloat in the lake. 

That's when officers say St. Martin and some others from the rental boat jumped in to assist. At some point St. Martin disappeared under the water, witnesses told officers. 

One of the women, K’neisha Adams, 25, of Burke, Virginia, was rescued by a group of people from a separate boat. Adams was airlifted to the University of Louisville Hospital and later released. 

The Crawford County coroner’s office ruled the preliminary cause of St. Martin's death as an accidental drowning. 

No alcohol or drugs were suspected to be contributing factors.  Investigators say adequate life jackets were on the rental boat and none were in use. 

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