KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Divers have recovered the body of a Palo Alto man who became the fourth person to die in a water-related incident in Lake County in the past month after he fell into the lake at Clear Lake State Park over the weekend.
The body of Caldwell Joseph Pitre, 59, of Palo Alto was found on Monday morning, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Brooks said deputies responded to the Clear Lake State Park Marina in Kelseyville at approximately 8:12 p.m. Sunday on the report of a male subject who had reportedly fallen into the water and not surfaced.
Brooks said Central Dispatch advised that people had witnessed Pitre fall from his boat – which was next to the docks – into the water, and that several people who saw the fall were in the water trying to locate Pitre.
Witnesses said they saw Pitre pull into the dock area of the marina just as it was starting to get dark. They noticed Pitre leaning over the side of his boat; he appeared to be tying the boat to the dock when he slipped and fell into the water, Brooks said.
Pitre was reported to have surfaced a couple of times and yelled for help. As several people attempted to help Pitre, he disappeared below the surface and they could not locate him, Brooks said.
Deputies from both patrol and the marine unit responded to the area and started searching for Pitre. Brooks said Clear Lake State Park rangers also responded and assisted with the search.
The Northshore Dive Team responded to the scene and searched the area around the dock where Pitre was last seen. Brooks said the divers also searched areas where the marine deputies had obtained images of unknown objects with their side scan sonar.
Deputies and park rangers searched the area of the marina using side scan sonar until approximately 1:45 Monday, when they were forced to scale back the search due to exhausting all of the current resources, in addition to the poor visibility and lack of light, Brooks said.
Brooks said the search resumed at approximately 7:45 a.m. Monday, with deputies using their side scan sonar.
At approximately 11 a.m. Monday deputies were able to locate and mark an unknown object and requested the Northshore Dive Team, he said.
Brooks said that approximately 15 minutes later divers located Pitre and recovered his body from the water.
Pitre’s cause of death is pending autopsy results, Brooks said.
Pitre's death is the fourth in less than a month involving Clear Lake, as Lake County News has reported.
On May 28, 74-year-old James Michael Leale of San Jose and Clearlake Park disappeared into the lake near Anderson Island and Vacation Island following a boating accident, with divers later recovering his body.
Walter Patrick Hoertkorn, 69, of Kelseyville, died while swimming in the lake near Kelseyville on June 2.
Michael Eugene Haberski, 59, of Sebastopol fell from his sailboat into Konocti Bay on the evening of June 7.
Brooks confirmed to Lake County News on Tuesday that autopsies have confirmed that drowning was the primary cause of death for Leale, Hoertkorn and Haberski.
Palo Alto man's body recovered from Clear Lake near state park; case is fourth lake-related death in a month
- Lake County News reports
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