Cross Plains school counselor drowns on fundraising trip - WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and Sports

CROSS PLAINS (WKOW) -- A Middleton-Cross Plains area counselor has drowned in Lake Superior while on a fundraising kayaking trip.

According to the Capital Times, 57-year-old Robert Weitzel was found by the Canadian Coast Guard Sunday morning in the waters near the Minnesota border. Northland's NewsCenter, based in Duluth, reported police said the cold water and 30 mile-an-hour winds contributed to his death.

Middleton-Cross Plains School District spokesman Perry Hibner says the district is "awaiting word from the family" before issuing a statement. Hibner says Weitzel was a guidance counselor at Glacier Creek Middle School in Cross Plains.

The Cap Times says there was a story in the Middleton Times-Tribune about Weitzel's trip. He was on a mission to raise money for urban at-risk children, so they could take wilderness trips as part of therapy. According to the newspaper, Weitzel's goal was to go 1,200 miles around Lake Superior to raise $5,000.