PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — The body of a US veteran was recovered hours later after not surfacing during a dive class at American Lake on Saturday, according to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.
The US veteran was taking part in a civilian scuba diving class on Joint Base Lewis McChord Saturday morning and did not surface following a practice dive at American Lake, the Pierce County Sheriff's Department said.
The Pierce County Metro Dive Team was called for a recovery effort at the lake at around 12:15 p.m., over an hour after the diver was reported missing, according to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.
The Pierce County Metro Dive Team used sonar and dive equipment to locate the diver's body and recovered the man at 4:30 p.m. and brought him to shore.
The Pierce County Metro Dive Team will be assisting the US Army Criminal Investigation Division with the investigation, the Pierce County Sheriff's Department said.
The US Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) is the lead investigative agency for the US Army.
CID primarily investigates deaths, sexual assault, armed robbery, procurement fraud, computer crimes, counter-drug operations and war crimes, according to its website.
2021 was one of the busiest seasons on record for water rescue crews all across western Washington.
Earlier this month, 38 Snohomish County water rescue members from five departments trained on the Skykomish River andlearned how to save lives.
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