A 16-year-old Minnesota boy was killed after taking part in what's known as the "Cold Water Challenge," the Associated Press reported.
The intention to start "cold water challenges" may have been to raise money for charity, but the sweeping social media phenomenon has instead caused one death and a host of injuries, ABC News reported.
"In the Internet game, students nominate someone to jump into Lake Michigan and then a video of the subsequent plunge is posted online before a new person is tapped to take the challenge," ABC News reported. "The rules of the dare have differed around the country, with some people donating to charity for each of their nominations who complete the plunge, while others have been given the ultimatum to either jump or donate."
The victim, identified as Davis Colley, participated in a "cold water challenge" at Eagle Lake in Baylor Park Friday night by himself.
After failing to surface back up, authorities were able to pull his body from Minnesota's Eagle Lake, according to ABC News' Minneapolis-St. Paul affiliate KSTP-TV.
Although his body was recovered later that night by Carver County sheriff's deputies, they were not able to immediately link his death to the challenge since it was believed he was alone when he went for a swim.
His friends, however, said that Colley had texted his girlfriend earlier in the evening to inform her about his plans to jump into the lake near Norwood Young America.
The tragic incident is being investigated, police told local media.
Apart from Colley, several students at New Trier High Scholl in Winnetka, Illinois have attempted to complete the dare by jumping into the freezing waters of Lake Michigan, school spokeswoman Nicole Dizon told ABC News.
"We know about a fractured ankle, a student who had to get stitches to the head and some minor sprains and injuries," Dizon said.
"The main thing is, if you're jumping into the lake, the lake is murky. You're not sure how deep it is," she said. "There can be rocks and other things in the lake and at this time of year, the lifeguards aren't on duty."
"This seemed like a fun, harmless thing to do and we understand that," she said, "but we also know going into the lake at this time of year is something that can be dangerous."