Bodies of 4 Missing Boaters Found in Idaho
Updated: 3 hours 48 minutes ago
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By Mara Gay
AOL News
(Aug. 10) -- The search for four missing men at an Idaho reservoir ended in tragedy when dive teams recovered the bodies of two brothers, their cousin and a friend, who vanished at the American Falls Reservoir in southeast Idaho during a boat trip this weekend.
Officials in Idaho say Darrel Shappart Jr., 57, Jared Hale, 26, Aaron Hale, 30, and Stephen Vereeck, 30, all drowned in a freak accident Sunday that started with a little innocent horseplay and left five small children floating alone on a small boat in the middle of the reservoir to recount the tale. The bodies were found Monday evening.
"I just think it's one of those crazy accidents that happens," Power County Sheriff Jim Jeffries told AOL News today in a phone interview. "They were horsing around, and nobody had meant for things to go so wrong," he said.
The children, all under the age of 11, told officials that one of the men pushed the other into the water as a joke, not knowing the man couldn't swim. The other three men jumped in to save him, but all drifted away from the boat and drowned. It's unclear whether the other three men could swim, but authorities said Monday that only one had a life jacket and was holding it in his hand instead of wearing it.
Alcohol was on the boat, but it's not yet clear whether it was involved in the incident. Jeffries said the medical examiner will do blood alcohol tests on the bodies. Power County Marine Patrol Deputy Pete Williams, who rescued the five children, said the investigation was ongoing and would not say whether the containers of alcohol had been opened.
A large group of family and friends watched rescue teams search for their loved ones from a bluff above the reservoir, where they began to lose hope as the hours wore on. "As the clock kept ticking, it became more and more apparent that they were not going to be found alive," Jeffries said. He said family members of the victims are in "a state of extreme grief."
Authorities said the children are thought to be related to the men, though it's not clear how. Jeffries said the men were found in an area called Mexican Cove, not far from the place where the children say they were last seen.
Updated: 3 hours 48 minutes ago
Print Text Size
EmailMore
By Mara Gay
AOL News
(Aug. 10) -- The search for four missing men at an Idaho reservoir ended in tragedy when dive teams recovered the bodies of two brothers, their cousin and a friend, who vanished at the American Falls Reservoir in southeast Idaho during a boat trip this weekend.
Officials in Idaho say Darrel Shappart Jr., 57, Jared Hale, 26, Aaron Hale, 30, and Stephen Vereeck, 30, all drowned in a freak accident Sunday that started with a little innocent horseplay and left five small children floating alone on a small boat in the middle of the reservoir to recount the tale. The bodies were found Monday evening.
"I just think it's one of those crazy accidents that happens," Power County Sheriff Jim Jeffries told AOL News today in a phone interview. "They were horsing around, and nobody had meant for things to go so wrong," he said.
The children, all under the age of 11, told officials that one of the men pushed the other into the water as a joke, not knowing the man couldn't swim. The other three men jumped in to save him, but all drifted away from the boat and drowned. It's unclear whether the other three men could swim, but authorities said Monday that only one had a life jacket and was holding it in his hand instead of wearing it.
Alcohol was on the boat, but it's not yet clear whether it was involved in the incident. Jeffries said the medical examiner will do blood alcohol tests on the bodies. Power County Marine Patrol Deputy Pete Williams, who rescued the five children, said the investigation was ongoing and would not say whether the containers of alcohol had been opened.
A large group of family and friends watched rescue teams search for their loved ones from a bluff above the reservoir, where they began to lose hope as the hours wore on. "As the clock kept ticking, it became more and more apparent that they were not going to be found alive," Jeffries said. He said family members of the victims are in "a state of extreme grief."
Authorities said the children are thought to be related to the men, though it's not clear how. Jeffries said the men were found in an area called Mexican Cove, not far from the place where the children say they were last seen.