AURORA, Colo. — Crews recovered the body of a 29-year-old man Saturday who went missing in the Cherry Creek Reservoir last weekend.
Recovery crews from South Metro Fire and Colorado Parks and Wildlife had been searching the reservoir for the man’s body after the victim went missing the evening of May 7.
The unidentified man was on a tube being pulled behind a boat when he became separated from the tube and went under the water but never resurfaced. First responders began an immediate search using sonar, but they were unable to locate the victim within the first 90 minutes. He was not wearing a life jacket.
The victim was discovered at 11:11 a.m. Saturday on the bottom of the reservoir using a sonar device. The victim was brought to the surface where a South Metro dive team turned the victim over to the Arapahoe County Coroner, who will determine a cause of death and make an identification.
“Everybody involved didn’t give up, no matter what the circumstances were and this is a great result of that,” said Cherry Creek State Park Manager Jason Trujillo in a news release. “We offer our deepest condolences and hope that this recovery will bring a little comfort to the family and friends as they mourn the loss of their loved one.”
The CPW said the drowning comes nearly one year to the day of another one in the reservoir. On May 2, 2021, a kayaker drowned near the East Shades parking area after being flipped over in the water.
That drowning was classified as a survivable accident if a personal floatation device had been worn, CPW said.
