UPDATED: Body of drowning victim recovered from Lake Powell

Lake Powell
Lake Powell in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, date not specified | Photo courtesy of the National Park Service, St. George News

GLEN CANYON NATIONAL RECREATION AREA — Officials from the Kane County Sheriff’s Office and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area announced Tuesday that a man who disappeared under the water while swimming in the Warm Creek area of Lake Powell is now presumed deceased.

May 2014 stock photo of Warm Creek Bay and Wahweap Bay, Lake Powell, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area | Photo by Ken Lund via Flickr, St. George News

Update June 4, 8:30 a.m. A National Park Service search crew located the body of the presumed drowning victim on Wednesday. The victim has been identified as Dustin Olague, a 30-year old male from Flagstaff, Arizona.

According to the original press release on the incident sent from the park service, at approximately 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area dispatch received a call about a missing person and presumed drowning in Lake Powell in Kane County.

Witnesses reported that a group of five friends was on a privately owned vessel traveling in the Warm Creek arm of Lake Powell, approximately 3,280 yards from the Cut. The victim, a 30-year-old man from Flagstaff, Arizona, decided to go for a swim. He was not wearing a life jacket, and conditions were semi-windy.

The man was last seen approximately 100 yards from the vessel when he disappeared underwater and did not resurface. National Park Service Rangers and Classic Air Medical conducted a hasty search until dusk.

No recovery was made on Sunday, and the missing party was presumed deceased at that point; however, recovery operations continued. The National Park Service deployed its submerged Remote Operated Vessel dive boat using side-scan sonar.

According to a press release sent Thursday by the park service, the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Dive Team assisted in the recovery. Lake Powell is estimated to be between 80 to 120 feet deep in that area.

The victim is being transported to the Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office in Salt Lake City for an autopsy. The incident is under investigation by the Kane County Sheriff’s Office, National Park Service, and the Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office.

The press release reminded all boaters to be aware of changing weather conditions and to always wear life jackets when boating and recreating on or around water.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!