Grant County man dies after drowning in Mississippi River
May 23, 2021 9:58 PM Stephen Cohn
POTOSI, Wis. One man died Sunday afternoon after drowning in the Mississippi River in Grant County.
According to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, Mitchell Hochhausen, 63, of Potosi, and his wife were with two of their grandchildren swimming on a sand beach island about a mile north of Potosi Point around 3:30 p.m.
A news release said Hochhausen had swam into the river to retrieve an item that had floated away, but was not able to make it back to shallower waters when he was swimming back.
A rural Potosi man is dead after drowning in the Mississippi River on Saturday. According to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, 63-year-old Mitchell Hochhausen was with his wife and two grandchildren on a sand beach island about a mile north of the Potosi Point. At around 3:30 p.m. Saturday, emergency crews were called for a possible drowning. Officials say Hochhausen swam into the river to retrieve an item that had floated away from the group. As he turned to swim back towards his family, witnesses say Hochhausen went under the water’s surface. About four hours after authorities were initially contacted, search and rescue crews located his body. He was pronounced dead at a nearby boat landing. The sheriff’s report says Hochhausen was in about six feet of water at the time he was pulled under. Several agencies from Iowa and Wisconsin assisted in the search and rescue efforts.