14-year-old paddleboarder dies after cardiac event on vacation, California dad says

A California teenager on an annual family vacation to Minnesota died in his “favorite spot in the whole world” while paddleboarding, loved ones say.

Stanley Wilson, 14, died Wednesday, Aug. 9, while with his family at Crosslake in Minnesota, according to a GoFundMe.

Stanley collapsed into the water, his father, Eric Wilson, said in a Facebook post.

“We got to him after 3-4 minutes under the water and pulled him up to give him desperate CPR but he did not look good,” the father said in the post. “They tried so hard — and I’ll love them forever — but with tears in their eyes, you could tell it was not going well. But for 15 agonizing minutes they tried and tried — all they could — but eventually it was done and he died right there in my arms.”

The teenager and his family, from Encinitas, California, had been vacationing at Pine Terrace Resort, sheriff’s officials told the Brainerd Dispatch.

The coroner told Stanley’s family the teen had a “hereditary, undiagnosed heart condition,” Eric Wilson said. It’s believed that he had a “cardiac arrest-like event” and felt no pain as he died, the dad said in a Facebook post.

“During his fourteen years, he touched many lives with his sense of adventure, his kindness, his determination to be good at what he loved and his love of his friends and family,” a GoFundMe says.

Stanley was a former captain of his soccer team. The Cardiff Soccer League said he “embodied what it was to be a good teammate and leader.”

A wake will be held for Stanley on Wednesday, Aug. 16, in Encinitas, about 25 miles north of San Diego.

This story was originally published August 16, 2023 at 7:51 AM with the headline "14-year-old paddleboarder dies after cardiac event on vacation, California dad says."