Investigators tell 10TV that a body has been found in a search for a man who went overboard last weekend in Hoover Reservoir.
The Genoa Township Police Department says the body of 54-year-old Thomas Mixter of Columbus was found by dive teams in the reservoir Monday morning.
The discovery comes after firefighters received a 911 call about a man who went underwater late Saturday.
Genoa Township Fire Department Deputy Chief Joe Ponzi says two men had been sailing in the reservoir and were on their way to a dock when their motor lost power. The boat then drifted onto a sand bar and became stuck.
Mixter jumped into the water to try and free the vessel, but could not get back on the boat. He then slipped underwater after hanging on to the side of the boat.
Search crews with sonar equipment combed three miles of the Hoover Reservoir over the weekend but could not find the 54-year-old.
Over the weekend, Chief Ponzi wondered to 10TV as to why the men decided to sail in the dark. "If they had just had life jackets; a life jacket probably would have made a life and death difference for this gentleman,” Ponzi said.
Genoa and Berlin Townships, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Columbus Police Department all assisted in the recovery efforts.
