Dive Team Pulls Body Of Missing Boater From American Lake

LAKEWOOD, WA — The Pierce County Metro Dive Team has recovered the body of a boater who went missing in American Lake over the weekend.

According to a blog post from the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, the dive team was deployed on Sunday to search the lake. The boater had gone missing the day before, but Lakewood Police, West Pierce Fire & Rescue, and the Coast Guard had been unable to locate him.

The dive team searched the lake until dark Sunday, but were also unable to locate the missing man. Monday, they resumed the search and, using sonar, located the missing boater's body 77 feet under the surface. Divers pulled the body to shore. It has since been given to the Medical Examiner’s Office who will confirm the time and cause of death.

The Lakewood Police Department will also continue its investigation into the boater's death, though officers say it appears to have been an accidental drowning.