By Tracy Ouellette
Editor
Funeral services for the 33-year-old East Troy man who Saturday evening after jumping from a pontoon boat on Lake Beulah will be 11 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 21, at Schmidt & Bartelt Funeral and Cremation Services, 930 Main St. in Mukwonago. Visitation is scheduled from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday Aug. 20, and from 10 a.m. until the time of services on Friday at the funeral home.
Jason Ottow, known to his friends and family as “Jay Wop,” died after jumping off of a double-deck pontoon boat and hitting another boat, striking his head during the annual “tie-up” on Lake Beulah Aug. 15. A dive team was called in to recover the body.
“He struck the smaller boat that was attached to the big barge as part of the tie up,” Walworth County Department of Natural Resources warden Juan Gomez said Tuesday morning. “He didn’t quite clear the jump.”
Gomez said the incident has been ruled an accidental drowning, but the DNR is still waiting on toxicology reports.
“Based on the type of event it was we’re assuming alcohol was involved, but I can’t confirm that; we’re waiting on results, which take two to three weeks,” Gomez said.
Gomez said the annual tie up on Lake Beulah usually includes a lot of alcohol consumption by the participants, but the organizers appoint a “designated driver” to steer the boats after their tied together. “It’s like a big old barge on the lake and the center boat is maneuvering all the boats.”
“At the time of the incident the boats were not under power, they were actually drifting toward the vicinity of Lindey’s Bar,” Gomez said.
He also said the DNR and East Troy township increase the lake patrols each year during the event and there were five DNR boats and one township boat out that day. Gomez said they made four OWI arrests during the course of the day, but once the drowning occurred, their efforts were focused on rescue.
He said in past years, they have made as many as 14 OWI arrests during the event.
“It’s an enjoyable event, that’s for sure, but the message we want to pass on is its important to drink responsibly when out on the water and to make wise decisions,” he said.
Ottow’s full obituary can be found by clicking the Obituaries tab at the top of this page.
