Okauchee Lake search, Pewaukee man's body recovered
Okauchee Lake search and rescue effort on Saturday, June 20. (Courtesy: Western Lakes Fire District)
MILWAUKEE - The Lac La Belle Police Department on Saturday said emergency responders recovered the body of a boater who fell overboard on Okauchee Lake.
Body recovered
What we know:
Police identified the victim as an 18-year-old Pewaukee man.
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Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wardens found the man's body in roughly 90 feet of water at around 11:30 a.m. after hours of searches, which started Friday night. The Waukesha County Sheriff's Department dive team helped recover the man's body.
What we don't know:
At this time, investigators have not released what area of the lake the man's body was recovered from. It's unclear what caused him to fall overboard.
Scene at the boat launch on Okauchee Lake.
Rescue and recovery efforts
The backstory:
Lac La Belle police, Western Lakes Fire District, Lake Country Fire & Rescue and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources responded to the lake after it was reported the boater fell in and went missing at around 10:40 p.m. Friday, June 19.
Western Lakes said its rescue boats and divers were in the water by 10:50 p.m. Lac La Belle police then responded with patrol boats, and the Western Waukesha Dive Team was brought in once the search was upgraded to a full dive response. The Wisconsin DNR deployed sonar equipment and underwater remote-operated machines, while Western Lakes and Chenequa police deployed drones.
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The searches began Friday night but were paused at 1 a.m. on Saturday. Searches then resumed at 6:30 a.m. and shifted into a recovery operation led by the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department.
Lac La Belle police closed the Road T boat launch and asked the public to avoid the area of active search efforts because wake and traffic from watercraft could interfere with sonar and underwater equipment.
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The Source: Information in this story is from Western Lakes Fire District and the Village of Lac La Belle Police Department.