5/27/2010

CEDAR BLUFF RESERVOIR — The body of a Claflin man was found Thursday morning after days of searching in Cedar Bluff Reservoir.
Fishermen reported finding the drowning victim in the area of the reservoir that rescuers had been searching since Sunday evening.
The body of Larry Garrett, 33, was recovered by deputies from the Trego County Sheriff’s Office, officers with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and divers from the Plainville Rescue Squad, Sheriff Richard Schneider said in a press statement.
Garrett’s 4-year-old son, Jacob, and friend Doug Haltom of La Crosse were rescued by another boater after they were found hanging onto trees in the area where their boat had capsized, stranding them in the water just after 7 p.m. Sunday.
Search and rescue crews had been working in the Apache Camp area located on the south side of Cedar Bluff Reservoir attempting to locate Garrett since the boat overturned.
Rescuers from the Trego County Sheriff’s Office, Trego County Emergency Management, Kansas Highway Patrol and Plainville Rescue Squad searched late into the night Sunday. Monday morning the boat was spotted by the KHP airplane, and it was recovered by Schneider and officers with the Wildlife and Parks Department.
High winds Monday caused increasingly turbulent water, and by afternoon the search had to be suspended.
During a full day of searching Tuesday, utilizing a Wildlife and Parks sonar boat and the KHP plane, no signs of Garrett were found.
On Wednesday afternoon, members of the Kansas Search & Rescue Dog Association and two dogs searched for four hours, and the dogs gave four positive alerts, the statement said. Areas where the dogs had responded were marked, and divers were asked to return to search the marked areas.
As preparations were being made Thursday to search, the sheriff’s office was notified that fishermen had found the drowning victim.
Schneider said he wished to thank the many people who assisted with the search for their time and service.