On 1 April 2012, victim fell from his boat while fishing, and drowned.  Victim’s son, who is the biological son of Victim, reported his father missing on the morning of 2 April 2012 to Pike County Sheriff Department. victim’s son indicated his father had been fishing the prior day. victim’s son became concerned when Victim failed to show up for chores on 2 April. victim’s son stated he went to Victim''s house and discovered it appeared Victim had not been in the house overnight. victim’s son went to the pond (located on property) and discovered the ATV Victim used to travel from the house to pond. victim’s son found the jon boat Victim used to fish from in the middle of pond. victim’s son could see the fishing pole Victim used still in boat and appeared to have not been casted into the water. There was also a bucket Victim used to sit on turned on its side in the boat. victim’s son stated at this time he believed his father had fallen into the water and drowned. victim’s son conducted a brief search of the water himself and after a short while, he contacted the sheriff''s department for assistance.  Pike County Sheriff contacted me at 0915 hours and asked for my assistance in searching the pond for victim, whom he believed had drowned . I arrived at the scene at 1020 hours. Sheriff and I began searching the pond using my jon boat. After a few passes, I observed a camo hat floating near where victim’s son stated he first found Victim''s boat floating. After a few passes in the area of the hat, we were able to retrieve victim from the pond bottom.  Victim was removed from pond, placed into a body bag, and was taken by truck to his cabin awaiting for the funeral home personnel to arrive.  An inspection of the boat revealed that the required safety equipments was not present in boat. I also discovered there were no registration numbers were on boat, and I was unable to locate a HIN number. The make and model of the boat was also missing. It appears Victim fell from boat and made no attempt to get back into boat after the fall.  I waited till the funeral home transport vehicle arrived and assisted with transferring body over to funeral home personnel.  I left the scene at 1130 hours.

The Pike County Coronor decided not to have an autopsy performed on the deceased subject.

Conclusion:
Victim apparently used a bucket as a seat in the small jon boat.  The position of the bucket (on side) leads me to believe victim was seated when he fell overboard.  Due to his age, I also believe it is possible he had a heart condition which may have contributed to the accident.  He was not wearing a life jacket and it is probable he drowned as a result of falling overboard.
Griggsville                   