Tuesday, May 30th, 2017
Drowning victim's body is recovered
Man believed to have jumped into Grand Lake
By William Kincaid
GRAND LAKE - The body of a Portland, Indiana, man who reportedly jumped off a pontoon boat early Saturday morning was found this morning by Montezuma Fire Department personnel, said Carey Santiana, Ohio Department of Natural Resources public information officer.
The body of Kevin Mann, 48, was found at about 6 a.m. in the area of Safety Island by Montezuma Fire Department personnel, ending a three-day search of all of Grand Lake by numerous agencies, Santiana said.
Reiterating details revealed at Saturday morning's news conference, Santiana said Mann was reportedly on a pontoon boat with several people near Safety Island when he voluntarily jumped off the vessel. He was not wearing a life jacket, she said, adding Mann had been staying at a private campground near the lake.
Mann's companions grew concerned when he did not return to the boat, and they called 911 at about 2:30 a.m., Santiana said. Montezuma firefighters were advised at 2:35 a.m. Saturday of a male overboard in the vicinity of Safety Island. Fire chief Ron Schulze said his department was aided in the search by personnel from the Celina police and fire departments, St. Marys Township Fire Department, ODNR's Division of Parks Watercraft and the U.S. Freshwater Boating Alliance.
Members of numerous agencies spent most of the daylight hours over the weekend searching for Mann, scanning the entire lake but focusing on the area around Safety Island, Santiana said.
"Five or six boats were on the water on the entire course of multiple days," she said.
The search ended this morning with the discovery of Mann's body.
Lt. Travis Martin of the Division of Parks and Watercraft spoke at Saturday morning's news conference.
"This is our first holiday weekend, and kids are out of school," he said. "Wear your life jacket, boat responsibly, check your safety equipment."
