Body of Germantown man who disappeared while swimming in Pewaukee Lake recovered

PEWAUKEE -- The body of a 22-year-old man who disappeared while swimming in Pewaukee Lake Saturday, July 18 was recovered Monday, July 20, officials with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource said.

Kim Cibino

Pewaukee police and fire crews, along with the Waukesha County Sheriff's dive teams saturated the area throughout the weekend. Police said they were searching in water that is about 7-feet deep, with dense weeds at the bottom of the lake making the mission challenging.

"My heart goes out to the family," said Kim Cibino, who lives near Pewaukee Lake. "At this point...I'm praying."

Bill Smithers

The search was called off at dusk Saturday and resumed at 7 a.m. Sunday. Bill Smithers, a longtime resident, returned to the area Sunday -- hoping for the best, while fearing the worst.

"We were just down here yesterday having a lunch," Smithers said. "I haven't seen a drowning or heard of a drowning out here in quite a few years. Too bad it happened to that poor fella."

After about 12 hours, dive teams were pulled for the evening Sunday -- with divers returning early Monday morning.

Pewaukee Lake search mission