Body recovered after swimmer went missing in Lake Pueblo

(PUEBLO, Colo.) — After a swimmer was reported missing, a team of Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) rangers and Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) divers found a body Saturday night, June 15, off the north shore of Lake Pueblo State Park.

CPW received a call for help around 8:15 p.m. and initiated a search using a sonar device and an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV), equipped with lights and a camera, and PCSO volunteer divers were called to assist. The search started off the Sailboard Beach area, west of the dam, where witnesses said the swimmer went missing.

Over the next three hours, the rangers and divers searched a grid pattern, investigating several objects found underwater. Finally, around 11 p.m., the body was located about 75 feet from the shore in water about six feet deep.

The team recovered the body and turned it over to the Pueblo County Coroner to identify the body, identify the official cause of death, and notify relatives.

Offering condolences to the victim’s loved ones, Lake Pueblo State Park Manager, Joe Stadterman said, “They have our deepest sympathies.  We hate seeing a life lost so tragically. This is another sad example of the importance of wearing life jackets when you are in or even near the water.”

According to CPW’s unofficial estimate, this is the 17th water-related death in Colorado in 2024, after 32 in 2023. The record for water-related deaths is 42 in 2022.

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