Searchers used remote equipment to reach 90 feet underwater and pull a 23-year-old camper's body from a lake in Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, authorities said Friday.
The recovery of Ty Sitter, 23, of Janesville, Wis., from Swan Lake occurred about 5:30 p.m. Thursday, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office.
Sitter, an avid outdoorsman, had camped in the northern Minnesota wilderness since he was young. The Boundary Waters trip near Grand Marais with his father and 19-year-old brother was an annual tradition.
Sitter went missing last Thursday after leaving the family's campsite on Swan Lake to fish.
When he didn't return, they found his canoe upright and unoccupied, with about 4 inches of water in it. His life jacket, tackle box and fishing net were there, but his fishing rod was missing.
His body was found about 500 feet from shore. Sonar and a remotely operated underwater vehicle were used in locating and recovering the body, the sheriff's office said. Sonar first detected the body on Sunday.
The recovery involved personnel from the sheriff's office, the U.S. Forest Service and the St. Louis County Sheriff's Rescue Squad.
PAUL WALSH
