‘Stop swimming in Madison Lakes’: Officials urge people to stay out after 3rd death in 3 years

Around 9:50 p.m. Saturday, Trotwood Fire Department responded to Madison Lakes on Olive Road for a water emergency.

Family members told crews a group was swimming between the lake’s shores when they lost sight of one of the swimmers, the fire department said.

They told the crews the area the swimmer was last seen, and the fire department immediately began searching.

Clayton, Englewood, Union and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base fire departments assisted. The search was suspended around midnight due to the safety of crews and the amount of time the swimmer had been submerged.

Recovery efforts started at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Pleasant Hill-Newton Fire Department, the Piqua Dive Team and Buckeye Search and Rescue canines responded, as well as Englewood, Clayton and WPAFB crews.

Around 2 p.m., the body of a 23-year-old was recovered and turned over to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.

“This marks yet another tragic incident at Madison Lakes — a location that continues to prove deceptively dangerous,” the fire department said.

In the past 12 years, five people have died at Madison Lakes, including three in last three years.

Deaths include:

“In nearly every case, friends and family shared a common statement: ‘We always swim here,’” the fire department said. “But repeated familiarity should never be mistaken for safety. Madison Lakes is not monitored, not maintained for recreational swimming and not safe.”