An Arkansas judge accidentally drowned after disappearing during a family vacation, authorities say.
The body of Arkansas County Northern District Judge Jeremiah T Bueker, 48, was located at the bottom of Mud Lake, 120 miles east of Little Rock, on Sunday morning, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Mr Bueker had been vacationing in the area with family and friends when he “ventured off alone” on Saturday evening, according to the sheriff’s office.
Family and friends began searching for him around Mud Lake, which flows into the Arkansas River at Reydell. His family called 911 when they couldn’t find any sign of the judge.
Sheriff’s deputies joined officers from the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission as they conducting an extensive land and water search along the “length and breadth” of Mud Lake using boats with specialist sonar equipment.
The search was called off after midnight due to poor visibility, before resuming on Sunday morning.
At around 9.15am, a side-scan sonar that provides a birds-eye view of the water detected a body on the bottom of the lake, Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr said.
Using recovery rescue hooks, they recovered Mr Bueker’s body. It was positively identified by family members.
“I truly pray that the successful recovery of Judge Bueker’s body... brings some sense of closure to the Bueker Family and those who knew him best,” Sheriff Woods said.
“The scour of emotions they must feel right now is devastating.”
The death is being investigated as an accidental drowning, the sheriff said.
