Man drowns in Mason City swimming area

MASON CITY, IA (AP) — Police say a 79-year-old man has drowned at a swimming area in a Mason City park.

Mason City police Sgt. Steve Klemas says several people pulled John Ernest Beery out of the water Saturday evening at Big Blue swimming area in Ray Rorick Park.

The Mason City Globe Gazette reports people at the swimming area tried to perform cardio pulmonary resuscitation on Beery, and police and firefighters also tried to revive him.

He was taken by ambulance to a Mason City hospital, where he was pronounced dead.