Twenty-four-year old Philip Mumm presumably drowned early Saturday morning after he jumped from a sailboat into the 47-degree waters of Lake Mendota.
Search efforts continued throughout the weekend; however, no body has been recovered.
Midway between Memorial Union and the Maple Bluff residential area, Mumm and five friends were out on a 18-foot Precision sailboat when, around 3 a.m., Mumm went swimming on his own, according to Madison Fire Department Assistant Chief George Burke.
\[Mumm] began to scream for help and [those on board] tried to maneuver back but their motor wasn't working,"" Madison Fire Department Assistant Chief Carl Saxe said. ""They had to use their sails to try to get back to him and they were unable to reach him.""
When a passenger on board called 911 at approximately 3:08 a.m., rescue crews lead by Saxe arrived quickly on the scene.
""We spent an hour and a half searching the waters trying to find him and we never did,"" Saxe said. The Dane County Sheriff Department then took over in search efforts that continued into early morning hours.
Although no traces of the body were found in the 300-yard search area near the Lake Street boat ramp, Lt. Mark Twombly of the Dane County Sheriff's Office said it is only a matter of days before the body will surface.
""If he did drown and go under, it's probably going to be a few days before he'll wind up resurfacing,"" he said.
While crews continued the search Sunday, Twombly said the possibility of further search efforts will depend on weather conditions and currents in the lake area.
With upcoming forecasts showing little to no wind and above-freezing temperatures, UW-Madison Professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences Jonathan Martin said lake waters would be calm, conditions under which a body would likely surface.
""If you had to dial up a situation in which you had to make such a macabre search, these would be the ideal conditions to do it,"" Martin said.
In the first boating death since 2002, some reports indicate alcohol was involved in the incident; however, it is unclear as to what role it played.
Mumm is a Madison resident who is not UW-Madison student.
