[1]The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office posted photos and updates on Facebook and Twitter of their activities at Mayfield Lake.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The search in Mayfield Lake that began late Friday afternoon for a Rochester man who slipped beneath the surface ended late this afternoon with the recovery of a body presumed to be his.
The body was found approximately 80 feet down and about 90 feet from where the 43-year-old husband and father was last seen, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
His name has not been released.
Sheriff’s deputies and firefighters responding to the 5:15 p.m. call for help on Friday from Ike Kinswa State Park were told the man became too tired to stay afloat as he and his teenage son were swimming back from a buoy. His wife swam out and tried to help him, but was unable to, according to the sheriff’s office.
Members of the sheriff’s office were assisted by the he Pierce County Sheriff’s Department’s dive team on Saturday, yesterday and today.
Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said the search and recovery effort was dangerous and difficult, given the tangle of tree stumps, branches and other underwater debris. The county coroner is expected to release the man’s name at some point.
Mayfield is actually one of two reservoirs created by two dams on the Cowlitz River.
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For background, read “News brief: Mayfield Lake drowning victim not located today” from Saturday July 2, 2016 at 8:50 p.m., here [2]