The body of an Arkansas judge was pulled from a lake over the weekend after he ventured off alone during a recreational outing with family and disappeared.
Jeremiah T. Bueker, 48, the Arkansas County Northern District Judge, was spending time with several family and friends in Jefferson County when he went off on his own, last seen near Mud Lake, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said in a release.
When he didn't return, his family called 911 and several agencies responded, including sheriff's deputies, marine patrol and the Arkansas Game Fish Commission, before midnight Sunday.
Extensive ground and water searches were launched, with boats deployed. The searches were suspended early Sunday due to low visibility and picked up after sunrise.
Boats equipped with side-scan sonar, which provides a birds-eye view of the water, detected a body at the bottom of Mud Lake, at 9: 16 a.m. Sunday.
Deputies used subsurface body recovery hooks to recover Bueker's body. After recovery of the body, deputies and investigators with the assistance of family positively identified the body as that of Bueker, the sheriff's office said.
Bueker's death is being investigated as an accidental drowning and his body will be sent to the State Medical Examiner, authorities said.
Jefferson County Sheriff Lafayette Woods said, "I really hope that the successful recovery of Judge Bueker's body by our deputies and Arkansas Game Fish Wildlife Officers brings some sense of closure to the Bueker FamilyBueker Family and those who knew him best." He said that the scour of emotions they must feel right now is devastating.