Pike Lake search: Recovery effort, missing 80-year-old boater
HARTFORD, Wis. - The Hartford Fire Department said dive teams are conducting a recovery mission Thursday, Oct. 19 after an 80-year-old boater went missing on Pike Lake.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office received a request to check the welfare of the boater around 9 p.m. Wednesday night. The caller reported that her 80-year-old husband never returned home after going out on the lake.
"We’ve had some rescue operations out on that lake," said Washington County Sheriff Martin Schulteis. "I can’t remember a search and rescue operation turning into a recovery in recent memory."
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An officer from the Hartford Police Department located a pickup truck and empty boat trailer registered to the man at the boat launch parking lot at the Pike Lake State Park. At that time, officials began a search of the lake. Conservation wardens with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources also responded with a patrol boat.
"We found his small boat floating near shore on the northeast side of Pike Lake. It did not have any damage to it," Schulteis said.
Search at Pike Lake
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team responded to the scene. 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 man was not located, and search operations were suspended for the night.
"The sun isn’t up as long as it is, and it gets dark pretty quickly and people and to be aware of that. I don’t know if he had safety gear or safety gear on at all, but obviously if you’re on any body of water you want to take those precautions," the sheriff said.
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The search resumed during daylight hours Thursday, but was declared a recovery operation around 2 p.m.
"Statutorily, once the fire department determines it’s no longer a rescue and search operation, command is typically handed over to the sheriff’s office to do the recovery operation," said Schulteis.
Crews from at least seven different agencies have been involved in the search, which is expected to resume at 9 a.m. Friday.