UPDATE: Union County Sheriff Rick Piel said in a news release late Tuesday afternoon, the body has been identified as that of 45-year old Richard Lee Gander, of Creston.
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Members from the Midwest Regional Dive Team have recovered the body of a missing boater from 12 Mile Lake east of Creston. Montgomery County Emergency Management Coordinator and dive team member, Brian Hamman, says white male drowning victim in his mid-40’s was recovered.
Hamman says body was found at about 9:15 a.m. and divers were in the water for a little more than an hour before they recovered the victim. Hamman says the body was located about 20-yards from the shore of the 635 acre lake that has a maximum depth of 44 feet and 15 miles of shoreline. He says the team was paged out to assist Union County Sheriff’s Department last night but it was too dark to proceed with the search.
The team then went to the lake around 7:30 a.m. today. He says while the outcome is not what anyone wanted, he’s glad they could complete the recovery promptly.
“Sometimes these last for hours, even days, so we are very fortunate,” Hamman says.
Union County Sheriff Rick Piel said they received a report of an empty boat on the lake at around 6:15 p.m. Monday and other evidence at the scene led them to initiate a search of the lake. The name of victim has not been released, pending notification of relatives.
(Reporting by Ric Hanson,KJAN, Atlantic)