OCONOMOWOC, Wis.  — Karen Distler recently moved to Oconomowoc from St. Louis. 

“[In] late October. We’re new to the area," Distler said. "This is our first summer here, we’re really enjoying the lakefront and all the lakes in the area.”

She especially likes being able to take her grandkids to the beach and even on the water on Lac La Belle. 

“Even my daughter in law was just saying, this is just ideal for families," Distler said. "This being my first summer here, and hoping they come back every summer, we’re definitely going to utilize this beach. It’s just so convenient and so beautiful.”

Distler heard about a drowning on Thursday on Lac La Belle, but hadn’t heard there was a second drowning on Sunday. 

First responders said both of the men who died were from Milwaukee, in their 30s, and had jumped into the lake from a rental boat on the Northwest side of Lac La Belle near Islandale. 

Chief Brad Bowen of the Western Lakes Fire District said while the lake has a lot of shallow areas, that's not always the case. 

“There is a lot of sandbars, but you shift five feet, and you’re going from an area that was four feet (deep) to an area that could be 35 feet (deep)," Bowen said. 

Neither of the two men who drowned on Lac La Belle were wearing life jackets in the water, but police believe both had them on board their boat. 

Erik Anderson, a Conservation Warden with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said aside from always wearing some sort of personal flotation device on a boat or in the water, pay attention to the weather and the wind. 

That does affect the conditions on the water, whether on Lake Michigan, or a smaller inland lake. 

“Especially during summer, it’s not uncommon for a storm to pop up out of nowhere and conditions that are rather calm can start to get a little bit dicey without much notice," Anderson said. 

That’s why Distler said when she and her family rented a pontoon just a week or so ago, they made sure all the kids had life jackets. 

She said you just never know. 

“You don’t," Distler said. "We had several adults on board, but you take your eyes off of someone for just one second, or there is somebody driving their boat being reckless, and they hit our boat and a kid flies overboard? I mean, life happens."

The investigation is ongoing. First responders say it’s been difficult on the families, the community, and on them. 

There was a drowning in October 2020 on Lac La Belle, but it’s not a common thing for the close knit town. 

“In talking to other members of the department who have served for 20 plus years, they can not recall a drowning on Lac La Belle," Bowen said. 

He urges everyone to be careful and wear life jackets, even if they think they're a good swimmer.