LAKE POWELL – The body of a 61-year-old man presumed drowned in Lake Powell on Monday was found yesterday.
On Monday Joe Coffield, from Snellville, Ga., and his wife were boating in a rental boat near buoy No. 12 at the entrance to Warm Creek Bay on Lake Powell. At approximately 1 p.m., as his wife was in the water with a life jacket on and began to drift away from the boat, Joe Coffield went in the water to try and help her; he then disappeared in the water and was presumed drowned.
Yesterday, dive crews worked together to locate and eventually recover Joe Coffield ‘s body about 11 a.m.
Dive crews participating represented the National Park Service, Utah Department of Public Safety, and The Summit County Sheriff’s Office, and were supported by Utah State Parks and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary in the search.
Coffield’s body was transferred to the Kane County Medical Investigator for further investigation.
Joe Coffield was the fourth boating-related death in a five-day period in Kane County’s portion of Lake Powell, following deaths arising from a boating collision between a 23-foot Crownline motorboat carrying 13 people and a rental houseboat on June 20.
The Kane County Sheriff’s Office, in a statement released yesterday, again reminded everyone to wear life jackets and be aware of your surroundings while boating on Lake Powell.
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