‘An Immense Loss.’ Bellefonte High School Student Drowns While Swimming in Raystown Lake

A Bellefonte Area High School student drowned Saturday while swimming at Raystown Lake in Huntingdon County, Principal Michael Fedisson wrote in an email to families on Sunday.

Nathan Dan, a 16-year-old sophomore, was “a student and a valued member of our school community since he began elementary school in the Bellefonte Area School District,” Fedisson wrote.

According to state police at Huntingdon, emergency responders were dispatched at about 5:15 p.m. Saturday when the teen went underwater while swimming at the lake on Susquehannock Road in Penn Township and did not resurface.

He was found dead after a search involving state police, Marklesburg and Smithfield fire companies, the state Fish and Boat Commission, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Huntingdon County Coroner’s Office.

Nathan was an athlete who played sports including lacrosse and basketball at Bellefonte Area High School.

“I know that he deeply touched the lives of many,” Fedisson wrote. “The passing of such a bright and energetic young individual is an immense loss that has left a void in all of us.”

Counseling services will be available for students and staff, and Keystone Exam sessions scheduled for Monday will be postponed.

Fedisson added that families should contact the high school administration or guidance office staff if their students need additional support.

“We offer our deepest sympathies to Nathan’s family,” he wrote. “Please join us in remembering Nathan and keeping his family in your thoughts during this incredibly challenging time.”