By Jeffrey Jackson

Owatonna People’s Press via AP

DODGE COUNTY — A 7-year-old boy has died after drowning in a pond in rural Dodge County, according to a statement released by the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office.

The boy, who has not yet been identified pending notification of his family, was first reported missing shortly before 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Naylor Pond. The pond is located on 160th Avenue, northwest of Dodge Center in a rural part of the county.

“The initial report was that the boy had been swimming with friends and had been missing for about 10 minutes,” Sheriff Scott Rose said in the statement.

A search of the area was initiated by the sheriff’s office. At about 7:37 p.m., divers located the boy’s body in a deeper part of the pond where he was last seen by his friends.

An autopsy is scheduled to be performed Wednesday by the Olmsted County Medical Examiner’s Office, according to the statement.

Assisting in the search were the Dodge Center Fire Department, the Claremont Fire Department, the West Concord Fire Department, the Dodge Center Ambulance Service, the Owatonna Police Department’s Drone Program, the Minnesota State Patrol’s helicopter, Mayo One, the Department of Natural Resources and the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team.