A weekend swim at Lake Madison took the life of an 18-year-old, but not before he helped his younger brother and cousin get to safety.

Search and rescue crews recovered the body of Dylan Nelson just after 10:30 Saturday night at Lake Madison.

He and the two younger boys were swimming on the sand bar at Walker's Point when the water became too much for them to handle. He helped the two get to someone on a jet ski, who took them to shore, but then went under water and didn't come back up. Seven hours later, crews pulled his body from the lake.

"What really assisted us in recovering the victim so quickly is the use of that sonar equipment. Being able to see underneath the water, pinpoint areas and have the dive team come and check those areas out," Tim Walburn, Chief Deputy for the Lake County Sheriff's Department, said.

People around Lake Madison are trying to piece together what happened not far from the shore. As their thoughts are with Dylan Nelson's family, they're also praising him for his actions before succumbing to the water.

Calm waves lapped onto shore at Lake Madison Sunday. Footprints in the sand are all that remain from the weekend's chaotic rescue attempt.

"It was kind of like a whirlwind. We were hearing several different things," Roxy Zimmer, who was at the lake during the rescue efforts, said.

"Everyone was curious what was going on. A lot of speculation on what happened," TJ Martin said.

Zimmer and her family saw about a dozen rescue teams arrive on scene after the current pulled Dylan Nelson, his brother Andrew and their cousin from Lake Preston underwater.

"I didn't think there was any kind of current or anything going through that could cause such a tragic accident that happened yesterday," Zimmer said. "You just don't expect something to happen like this. You just don't."

Zimmer says the Lake Madison community pulled together to help emergency crews with the search.

"A nice guy and his wife were just bringing their boat in and the guy offered to get them out there just as soon as he could," Zimmer said.

"People trying to help out anyway they could," Martin said. "As soon as people heard something new, they'd spread the information along."

It's not just the news of Dylan Nelson's death that's making its way around the lake, but how he helped save his younger brother and cousin.

"Usually something like that, most people panic and they think of themselves first. So, being 18 and being able to do something like that is impressive," Martin said.

"My heart truly went out to this family this weekend. I didn't know them, but I cannot even imagine what they might be going through right now," Zimmer said.

The family issued a statement tonight to thank everyone involved in the rescue. They would also like the jetskiiers who helped in the rescue to come forward and contact the Lake County Sheriff's office.