Indiana DNR: Man recovered from Patoka Lake identified as Indianapolis man

Update (9:07 a.m. on July 2)

In an update provided on Tuesday by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, officials identified the man who was recovered on Sunday from Patoka Lake in Orange County as 24-year-old Axel Xavier Richardson of Indianapolis.

Officials said that a cause of death is pending autopsy results.

Original Story

ORANGE COUNTY, Ind. — A man’s body was recovered from Patoka Lake in Orange County on Sunday evening, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

At around 6 p.m. on Sunday, dispatch from Orange County was notified that a man had disappeared under the surface of the water near the Painter Creek boat ramp at Patoka Lake.

Divers with the department’s law enforcement division recovered the body of the man at around 8:13 p.m. using sonar. The department states that the man’s identity is being withheld pending family notification.

“Indiana Conservation Officers remind the public to always wear your life jacket when on or around the water,” officials from the department said in a news release surrounding the incident.

Other agencies that responded to the incident included the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the Orange County Rural Fire District 1, law enforcement with the U.S. Forest Service, Indiana State Police and IU Health Paoli.

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