Officials share circumstances of Lake Macbride drowning

JOHNSON COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) - The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office has released its findings surrounding the incident at Lake Macbride that caused the deaths of a student and teacher.

The incident involved a 5th grade School of the Wild trip from Borlaug Elementary. The victims were 10-year-old Ahmed Osman of Iowa City, and 24-year-old Hannah Jorgensen of Tiffin.

First responders recovered both of their bodies from the lake.

Investigation report

The sheriff’s Office responded just after noon on September 22 to a report of two people in the water at Lake Macbride State Park near the Coralville Reservoir.

Jorgensen was leading a group of 14 students on a woodland hike that ended near the shore of the reservoir, where the class stopped to eat lunch.

During the lunch break, investigators say Ahmed stepped into the water flowing down the spillway. He slipped on the rocks and fell into the water.

Jorgensen jumped in the water to rescue Ahmed. She left her phone on the shore but told her students to call 911.

One student was able to make the call and the others alerted a bystander.

The bystander also jumped into the water to rescue the two but was unable to do so. They safely returned to shore.

The bystander stayed on the scene with the students and spoke with the investigators.

The other students were also interviewed as part of the investigation.