Bend man missing, presumed drowned in Diamond Lake; Douglas County SO leads search and recovery efforts

DIAMOND LAKE, Ore. (KTVZ) – Douglas County sheriff’s deputies are continuing to search for a Bend man who went missing and apparently drowned at Diamond Lake on Saturday.

Deputies have spent the past two days searching for signs of Chimanbai Patel, 37, without success, the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook update posted Monday night.

Around 5:40 p.m. Saturday, Douglas County 911 dispatchers received a report that Patel had been on a pontoon boat with friends at Diamond Lake when he jumped in to take a swim. Shortly after entering the water, Patel went under and never resurfaced, deputies said.

Deputies enlisted the assistance of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team and Search and Rescue, as well as the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue and Oregon State Police.

A dog trained in water recovery was deployed with searchers on the lake on Monday, but Patel remains missing, the agency said,

“This is a tragedy for his friends and family,” sheriff's Lt. Brad O'Dell said. “We have been in communication with his family and will continue efforts to locate him so he can be returned to his loved ones. We are very grateful to our partner agencies who have been assisting us in our search.”

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