A wrongful death lawsuit was filed last month in Sauk County Circuit Court by the parents of a 4-year-old who drowned last year at the Wilderness Hotel and Golf Resort.

The suit, filed by the parents of the victim, Tyler Houtakker, of the Asbury, Iowa, claims Wilderness Hotel employees were negligent by failing to take notice of Tyler's distress in a wave pool that was not active, and for failing to enter the pool to perform a rescue.

According to a Lake Delton Police Department incident report, in June of 2007, after Houtakker was seen floating face down in the pool by a lifeguard, a citizen was asked to take action a minute or two later to bring Houtakker out of the water where lifeguards and security personnel tried to resuscitate him.

The report said the lifeguard who originally noticed Houtakker face down in the water asked a supervisor twice if it was okay to help the boy and was told not to by a supervisor. The supervisor later told police that "guests get angry when lifeguards enter the pool for non-emergency situations."

Prior to noticing the boy face down, reports state the lifeguard saw the boy in the not-so-crowded pool, "swimming" underwater before she spoke to her manager for about 15 - 30 seconds. Parents admitted in a police interview their son probably did not know how to swim.

In a follow-up investigation of the incident two-months later, a Lake Delton detective, Kurt Doodreau, noted there was no cause for criminal negligence charges in the death, and no criminal charges were ever filed by Sauk County District Attorney Patricia Barrett.

But while Doodreau found the actions of the lifeguards commendable after the four-year-old was removed from the water, he thought "mistakes were made," and also thought statements about not jumping into the water when Tyler was first seen facedown were "troublesome."

A lawyer for the Wilderness Hotel, Jay Starrett, said in an interview that based upon his preliminary investigation, the statements in the police report by the manager and lifeguard were inaccurate.

He specifically questioned the statement allegedly said by lifeguard supervisor Devin Mallo, about guests getting angry when lifeguards enter the pool.

"I think that is an out-of-context comment, and I don't know if it has anything to do with these circumstances," Starrett said. "I'm not denying the police report, I'm denying that the conversation was in the context it was in."

In a response to the lawsuit, the Wilderness Hotel alleged that Houtakker's parents, "negligently failed to properly supervise Tyler Houtakker", "failed to adhere to the water safety notice provided at check-in" and also "failed to adhere to the rules posted on signs in the water park."

In Doodreau's follow-up investigation, he said an employee of the Department of Health and Family Services reported the Wilderness lifeguard staffing plan was appropriate and signs clearly stated: children under 48 inches should be accompanied by an adult; weak swimmers should stay in shallow waters; and it is recommended small children wear a life jacket.

In an interview with Houtakker's parents, Tammy and Brian, Doodreau said they did not know if their son could stand with his head above water where Tyler was found. They also said Tyler had not swam since introductory swimming lessons that were not intended to teach him to swim.

The last time anybody saw Tyler alive was also unclear according to Doodreau's investigation, and the line of sight between where Tyler was found and his father was not clear.

Doodreau said Tyler was likely floating rather than sinking with water in his lungs because he suffered a "dry drowning," consistent with evidence. He concluded that by the time Tyler was seen face down in the water, he had already drowned.

A Wilderness representative, Joe Eck, said this was the only drowning death at the hotel so far and he said since the event, more life jackets and signs directing patrons to them have been added. He declined to comment about the specifics of the case.

When called about the suit parents Tammy and Brian declined to comment, and their lawyer did not return phone calls.

Starrett said the suit will now go into the discovery phase of gathering evidence, which could take over a year.

 Fast fact:

This is not the only wrongful death case filed in Sauk County Circuit Court. Another wrongful death suit stems from a drowning at the Shamrock Motel in Wisconsin Dells in 2003. The suit, on behalf of George Donnell Jr., will go to trial in June.