One person is dead following a search and water rescue effort Saturday afternoon in Osage County.
According to the Osage County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, the Sheriff’s office received a report that an individual had fallen out of a boat on Melvern Lake just after 3:40 pm. This led to a response by Sheriff’s deputies, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Osage County Fire Districts 2 and 3, Reading Fire, Osage County EMS and a LifeSave helicopter out of Emporia.
Personnel conducted a “lengthy” air, land and water search and managed to locate an unnamed individual who was rescued from the water. Life-saving measures were performed and the person was taken to an unspecified hospital but was pronounced deceased.
The US Army Corps of Engineers says the lake temperature was 34 degrees as part of its most recent social media report Friday. It also says ice coverage was 25 percent heading into the weekend.
The name of the individual has not been released. A joint investigation is ongoing through the Osage County Sheriff’s Office and Department of Wildlife and Parks.
