NEWS LIVE: This report contains news live as it develops and is being updated continuously. Bookmark and refresh the page periodically for updates. Last updated at 12:20 a.m.
WASHINGTON COUNTY – The Washington County Search and Rescue Dive Team was dispatched to Quail Creek Reservoir Monday evening after a BYU geology group visiting the area reported a vehicle may have gone off the boat ramp into the water. After hours of searching, the dive team discovered a vehicle under water with a body inside.
The geology group heard a loud and suspicious noise around 5:45 p.m. that eventually led them to call the police, Scott Zylstra, one of the geology group members, said.
“We were on the other side, that side of the lake,” Zylstra said as he pointed across the reservoir, “and just heard a couple loud crashes and then looked as soon as we could and just saw this cloud of dust and then something – couldn’t tell what it was – in the water; it was too far away. It just kind of slowly sank.”
Because the group didn’t know exactly what it was that went into the water, they said they didn’t know what to do. However, when the group went back to camp, they found a hub cap and broken glass, and that is when they said they decided to call the police.
At 9:45 p.m., Laura Melling, park manager and superintendent of Quail Creek Reservoir, said the dive team was waiting for their boat to arrive on scene so they could begin the search.
At that time, there were no known witnesses who actually saw what went into the water, Melling said, and no solid evidence that it was a vehicle.
“It could have been a tree branch,” she said.
However, at approximately 11:30 p.m., Melling confirmed the Search and Rescue crews had located a passenger car under the water, and rescue crews were using lift bags to float the vehicle to the main dock.
Shortly after midnight, Melling confirmed there was a body found inside the car.
Melling is encouraging the public not to visit the park until the investigation is complete.
This is a developing story, refresh page for updates.
St. George News Reporter Kimberly Scott contributed to this report.
Related posts
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews | @NewsWayman
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.