UPDATE: On Saturday, crews recovered the body of a deceased adult male submerged in the water at Lake Estes. On Thursday, the Larimer County Coroner's Office confirmed Quentin Mbongue, 25, of Westminster, Maryland, as the man who died. His cause of death is ruled as asphyxia by drowning due to cold water immersion, and his manner of death is considered an accident.
DENVER – The search for a man who went missing from a boat on Lake Estes turned into a recovery operation Friday, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office said.
Search crews looked well into the early-morning hours Friday for the man, ceasing dive operations at dusk but using boats equipped with sonar to search until about 2 a.m.
Recovery operations got back underway Friday in the search for the man, who went missing from a pontoon boat around 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
The sheriff’s office said the man, who was visiting from out of state, was with another man and two women from the Boulder area on a rented pontoon boat on the lake. The now-missing man fell into the water near Fisherman’s Nook on the lake’s northern side about an hour after they embarked.
The three other people on the boat tried to find the missing man, then beached the boat to call for help. The sheriff’s office said Friday that investigators were interviewing witnesses to figure out how or why the man fell into the lake.
The lake was closed to all watercraft Friday while the search continued with sonar equipment. The lake will remain closed Saturday as crews continue the search.
The LCSO is asking anyone with information about the incident to call Investigator Pete Mesecher at 970-498-5144.
