October 22, 2023 – The Washington County Dive Team has recovered the body of the 80-year-old man who went missing on Pike Lake on Wednesday night, October 18, 2023.
Update: Boating Incident – Pike Lake 23-36714
Authority: Lt. Jason Guslick
On Sunday, October 22, 2023, shortly before 2 p.m. the Washington County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a citizen who was boating on Pike Lake, and advised they believed they located the lost boater from Wednesday’s incident submerged underwater.
Washington County Sheriff’s Office Deputies responded to the scene along with Sheriff’s Office members of the Washington County Dive Rescue team. The subject was located a short distance offshore in approximately 6 feet of water between the beach area and boat ramp at Pike Lake State Park.
Sheriff’s Office Divers recovered the deceased subject and were assisted on shore by Hartford Fire/Rescue and the Washington County Medical Examiner’s Office. The subject was positively identified as the 80-year-old male that had gone missing on October 18.
No further information is available currently and this incident remains under investigation.
Below is a previous story about the search earlier in the week…
October 20, 2023 – Washington Co, WI – The Washington County Dive Team has resumed the search this morning for the missing 80-year-old boater who went missing on Pike Lake late on Wednesday evening. According to the Washington County Sheriff, the Team has been triangulating over a hotspot on the northwest side of the lake.
Two boats, a police team, and the WCS launched around 10 a.m. The Dive Team has been utilizing the Aqua Eye to search for the missing boater. West Bend Fire Department Fire Chief Chuck Beistle said it’s a difficult job that requires being able to search in zero visibility. “Every 10 feet is a different atmosphere which causes compression on your body. You have to know how to regulate your buoyancy.”
The WCS said someone from the community that knew the man stepped forward with some information to help with the recovery.
The Dive Team is expected to go out in about one hour if the hot spot area pans out.
Windy weather conditions are making for very choppy water.
This is a working story and washingtoncountyinsider.com will provide more information as it becomes available.
October 20, 2023 – Hartford, WI – Washington County Dive Team will resume its search at 9 a.m. today, Friday, October 20, 2023, for an 80-year-old man who went missing on Pike Lake late Wednesday night. Below is a video of volunteers and the exhaustive effort put forth by search and rescue/recovery teams on Thursday.
Crews were on the lake until about 3:30 p.m. when dark clouds pushed in along with a storm. Divers were pulled and boats came ashore as threats of lightning put a halt to search efforts.
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Emergency vehicles from across Washington County, WI peppered the parking lot near the swimming area of Pike Lake State Park as dive teams worked from 9 a.m. until about 3:30 p.m.
Authorities acknowledged as dark clouds and a downpour swept through the area that the rescue effort had changed to a recovery effort.
Members of the Washington County Dive Team exited the water as dark clouds loomed on the horizon. A couple divers, tethered with a rope, continued to scour the water near the boat launch, their fluorescent yellow flippers visible from the shore.
The family of the missing man visited the site and watched the search from the shore as fire chiefs from Slinger and Hartford worked to direct the removal of boats from the water.
Neighboring churches across the community are starting prayer chains as they pray for the man’s safe return.
The recovery effort will resume at 9 a.m. Friday, October 20, 2023.
Below is an initial release from the Washington County Sheriff.
On Wednesday, October 18, 2023, at 9:06 PM, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office received a request to check the welfare of a boater on Pike Lake in the Town of Hartford. The caller reported that her 80-year-old husband had gone out to the lake several hours ago but had not yet returned home.
Mutual aid was requested from Hartford Police Department to check the boat launch parking lot at the Pike Lake State Park to attempt to locate the truck and trailer registered to the subject.
An officer from the Hartford Police Department located a pickup truck and empty boat trailer registered to the subject parked in the lot.
Deputies immediately responded to Pike Lake with the Sheriff’s Office patrol boat and began a search of the lake. Conservation wardens with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources also responded with a patrol boat.
Approximately five minutes after arriving on the lake, deputies located the subject’s unoccupied boat located on the east shore of the lake, north of the Pike Lake State Park beach. It did not appear to have been involved in a collision.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team was notified, and they responded to the scene. The following fire departments responded to assist in the area search and dive operations: Hartford Fire Department, Richfield Fire Department, Kewaskum Fire Department, Slinger Fire Department, Allenton Fire Department, and the West Bend Fire Department. Wisconsin State Patrol also responded.
A search of the lake and immediate vicinity was conducted via use of multiple patrol boats with sonar capabilities and an aerial drone.
After several hours of searching, the subject was not located, and search operations were suspended for the night. The search has been scheduled to resume during daylight hours.
No further information is available at this time. This incident remains under investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
