On December 10, 2009 I, Indiana Conservation Officer was called by Officer 1 to assist with a missing person on Winona Lake. The missing person was reported initially to Warsaw Police Department early in the morning. 

I met Officer 1 at the Kosciusko county fairgrounds boat ramp. The winds were high out of the west-southwest. The temperature was ~ 7 degrees Fahrenheit with slight cloud cover. Fog was lifting from the lake water making visibility somewhat difficult. At 0755 we launched the 16' Jon boat to begin the search for the boat and missing individual. At approximately 0820 I received information from Warsaw city officer on the contact information of the caller of the missing person.

At 0832 Officer 1 called me to advise he discovered a capsized aluminum V-bottom style boat ~50 yards from the shore on the north east portion of Winona lake.

At 0837 I called a Reporter 1 to get descriptors of her husband and the boat. I asked her if her missing husband, Victim 1, had any possible friends that he may have went to visit. She said, "there was no one that she could think of he would visit at that time of night". She said that Victim 1 "liked to take lake cruises at night and it was not unusual for him to go out". She said she thought he would be wearing tennis shoes, carhart style outer clothing and a face mask. She said that they were getting along fine and that she knew of no problems, personal or financial, that would cause for suspicious behavior. She said he was employed with the Times Union. She described his boat as a "silver jon boat with a small tiller motor". She was not sure of the make of the boat. She said she thought he left around midnight because she woke at 2AM and the boat was gone but his truck was still in the drive. She woke again at 4AM and he was still not home and she called into the Kosciusko dispatch to report him missing. 

Officer 1 came back to shore and around 0850. At ~0900, a fairgrounds maintenance employee discovered a face down human body along the north shore of the lake just south of the county fairgrounds. The individual was wearing camo rubber knee boots and brown hooded heavy-style coveralls. Photos of the body were taken and I contacted dispatch to advise the county coroner. Times Union photographer  was present and took photos as well. Times Union supervisor, was present also and both were not positive but almost definite that the face down body was Victim 1. I contacted Warsaw PD detective 1, who was with Reporter 1 and ICO detective 2, whom at that time were conducting an interview with Reporter 1. I advised Detective 1 that we had found a body along the shore.  We checked the body for a wallet but were unable to find one on the subject through the ice on the clothing. Officer 1 had to break formed ice around the legs of the body in order to move him. Officer 1 and I were able to roll the body over to try and get a positive ID from the times union photographer. He was able to determine that it was Victim 1. Warsaw PD chief also was able to ID the body as Victim 1. 

ICO's 1 and 2 were able to retrieve the capsized aluminum boat and return it to shore. I ran a license check through North Region Law Enforcement of its registration numbers. They read 360 SW. The return came back as a 1977 aluminum make unknown boat and the registered owner being a Victim 1. The boat was loaded by Crouse wrecker service and delivered to Warsaw PD for temporary storage for Reporter 1.
Winona Lake                   