Body found in Lake Tahoe possibly diver missing 17 years

[DandyDon]

Sacto 9-1-1: Body found in Lake Tahoe may be that of diver missing 17 years

Authorities hope dental records will help determine whether the body of a diver recovered from Lake Tahoe last week is that of a man who reportedly went missing in the lake 17 years ago, an El Dorado County Sheriff's Department spokesman said.

The Sheriff's Department was alerted to the body by another diver who reported seeing it at a depth of about 265 feet, said sheriff's spokesman Lt. Bryan Golmitz.

Last Wednesday, a team from the Sheriff's Department used a remotely operated vehicle fitted with a camera to locate the body - which was still wearing dive gear - on an underwater shelf off Rubicon Point, which is near Highway 89 in South Lake Tahoe.

After locating the body, which took three to four hours, sheriff's personnel were able to attach the mechanical claw of the remotely operated vehicle to the dive gear and pull the body to the surface, Golmitz said.

It appeared the body had remained at that depth due to the weight of the gear, he said.

Though the body was fairly well preserved by cold temperatures, authorities are hoping dental records will allow the coroner to establish a positive identification, Golmitz said. He said the sheriff's office believes the body may be that of Donald Christopher Windecker, of Reno, who was reported missing in July 1994 following an apparent diving accident in the lake.

Bee (the reporting newspaper) archives show that Windecker, then 44, and a friend had dived down about 100 feet in the lake south of Rubicon Point, when Windecker apparently lost consciousness while trying to ascend. Sheriff's officers reported at the time that Windecker was last seen at a depth of 130 feet, descending and with his breathing regulator out of his mouth, archives show.

Gear found on the body last week appeared to date to that time period, including a certification date on the scuba tank, Golmitz said.

"Everything on the diver appears to point to that 1994 case," he said. "But without the positive ID, we're holding off making any notifications."

[melanie.]

Wow.. Glad that there will be finally be closure.

But I don't understand why it would take 17 years? (assuming of course it is him but still). Why would they stop searching? I don't know the lake but I don't understand why it couldn't all be thoroughly searched given time

[k ellis]

Melanie I am sure thats something we would all like to know. It does sound a bit odd that if he was last seen decending without a reg there would most likely be a need to recover the body. This is going to be an interesting story to follow but I am glad that the family at least got their loved one back even if its just to provide closure.

[calicant]

Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America and also very deep.

[TC]

Most of Tahoe is deep- max depth 1645', average depth 1000'.

Facts about Lake Tahoe.

Sounds like the body landed on a shelf at 265', unlikely that any of the teams had ROV's or sonar back in the 90's to check the deeper areas.

[melanie.]

Wow thanks TC.. that is far deeper and bigger then I would ever have expected.

But still that only explains a few years of why they would have to call off searches of the shallow areas. We have had the technology now for a while that could have found him. Why wasn't the search re-opened years later when it was possible to use the equipment? I mean it almost seems that he was forgotten about, which is very very sad to me. It's one thing to say we know a body is there but can't recover without risking more lives, then to just not look everywhere

[TC]

Hard to say, (all of the following is speculation) most public safety divers don't have lengthy careers. 5 to 10 years is probably average. (On my team I'm the only one left that was around back in 1994.) It may simply be that there is no one left on that dive team that was familiar enough with the incident to initiate an ongoing search.

You always want to recover the victim for the family but the level of risk we are willing to take to recover a body is much less than we are willing to take to make a rescue and potentially save a life. Many/most public safety dive teams do not dive past 130'.

If they thought that he was in the deeper portion of the lake (seems reasonable if the article is correct and he was on a shelf at 265') then his recovery might have been considered impractical.

Glad they were able to get him back for the family.

[muzikbiz22]

Wow thanks TC.. that is far deeper and bigger then I would ever have expected.

But still that only explains a few years of why they would have to call off searches of the shallow areas. We have had the technology now for a while that could have found him. Why wasn't the search re-opened years later when it was possible to use the equipment? I mean it almost seems that he was forgotten about, which is very very sad to me. It's one thing to say we know a body is there but can't recover without risking more lives, then to just not look everywhere

Again, Lake Tahoe is HUGE & DEEP, not to mention cold too. Unfortunately, all searches end at some point, be it a lake, ocean, forest or other. In this case, yes there is new technology/equipment that could enable a search easier, i.e. submersible robot, side scan technology, etc. Hypothetically, it would take years (lots & lots of money) to search the lake and "look everywhere". I'm all for looking for someone/something until its' found, but at some point reality sets in and tough decisions must be made to continue or quit. "Lost at Sea" happens all the time.

[DandyDon]

Here is an article from 1994 that mentions the accident along with two other drownings, and mentions severe staff cutbacks: Lodi News-Sentinel - Google News Archive Search Budget cuts?

Excerpting...

[Togalive]

Whats a bit freaky is that I was diving the Rubicon Wall just a couple weeks ago with the Tahoe Environmental Research Center right over where they found him, but shallower. In case you were wondering, here are some basic facts about diving in Tahoe that could have limited a search:

1. Its cold. During the summer the thermocline above 40ft is around 50-56 degrees, but get below 40 and your in 38 degree water. Down around 60ft and your in even colder water. Go during the winter and you'll have your spit freeze the minute you try to defog your goggles. Having to chip ice out of your mask at the surface is commonplace even though the lake never freezes.
2. Rubicon wall isnt your standard wall. It starts off pretty vertical, but then about every 70 ft or so on the way down it plateaus outwards for 20ft or so. This can make it difficult to see things below you (unlike if it were a straight wall). Also, Rubicon extends down past 300 ft, so it is also a very deep portion of the lake where water temps are usually significantly colder. As for the wall itself, its either somewhat rolling yet flat sheets of rock, or if your on the north side, very large boulders stacked up on another (25+ ft diameter).
3. One thing I didnt see anyone mentioning is the sheer altitude of the diving up there. At 6,000 ft water level, a dive to 70ft is closer to 90 ft by most calculations. I honestly am wondering how the divers who found the body were down at 265 ft. The deco time required for a dive like that would be ridiculous, and some would argue that if they left the lake and tried to go over the 8,000 ft pass via I-80 they werent being the most responsible divers.
4. Last but not least, and definitely not something the article mentioned, bodies on lake Tahoe simply dont decompose very quickly. Because of the extreme cold, bodies (especially those at depth) dont float back up because the bacteria can't produce enough gas due to a slowed metabolism. Also, because of the fact that Tahoe is practically ecologically dead in terms of life in the lake, besides the occasional crawdad there is nothing to consume the bodies. This guy was likely found as if he dove a few weeks ago in most lakes, though a bit frosty looking no doubt.

Its sad that a diver was lost when he was, but in any case getting a diver back from the depths and home is always a good thing.