Casey Gerek

Casey Gerek attempted to rescue Paul V. Gerek from drowning, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, August 11, 2025. Gerek, 60, fell into the flooded Menomonee River intending to retrieve his dog. Submerged to his neck, he grasped a branch near the bank to avoid being taken by the swift current. Gerek’s son, Casey, 17, high school student, was near him and saw him struggling to hold on. With the intent of reaching his father, Casey stepped forward, crossed the bank’s steep, submerged drop-off and fell into the cold water, also submerging to his neck. He grasped a branch next to Gerek, and they both held on and shouted for help. A woman later responded and called 911, and police and fire personnel arrived and initiated a rescue using ropes. Gerek was secured, but Casey struggled due to the swift current, then both the rope and the branch he was holding broke and he was taken downstream by the current. Police attempted to reach him by dangling a K-9 leash from a bridge over the river downstream, but Casey was swept past it. Two police officers responded to a point downstream of the bridge and reached the opposite bank. The first officer entered the swift water and saw Casey drifting toward him. He grasped Casey’s hand and the current carried them until the officer was able to grasp tree brush about 100 feet farther downstream. He held onto the branch and Casey until the other police officer and three others arrived, and, with them, lifted Casey over the branch to shallow water. The first officer also exited the water. Gerek was removed from the water by rescue personnel. He had sustained bruises and ingested water and was taken by the ambulance to a hospital. He was released several hours later. Casey also had ingested floodwater, which he later vomited, and had bruises and scrapes to his legs, as well as minor hypothermia. He, too, was taken to the hospital by ambulance. He was treated and later released after several hours. Gerek’s dog apparently escaped the water on its own and was later found alive near the family vehicle in a nearby parking lot.

2025-0000346-10580