Authorities name 3 Minnesotans who drowned during family gathering over July 4 weekend

RED WING, Minn. (AP) — Authorities have identified three people who drowned in a tributary of the Mississippi River near Red Wing over the Fourth of July weekend.

The Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner’s office said Thursday that the victims were 17-year-old Petrona Juan-Jose, 22-year-old Miguel Juan-Jose, and 41-year-old Ke Drer. All were from the same household in the St. Paul suburb of Oakdale. They were part of a family gathering Monday on the Vermillion River, near the confluence with the Mississippi River.

Authorities say Drer rescued his adult daughter when they got into trouble, but went underwater while trying to rescue the other two.