Officials with the Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources are asking for your help in tracking down the activities of a man whose body was found in the lake at Lake Anita State Park, Thursday. Capt. Brian Smith with the DNR says 63-year old Roland “Rollie” Henderson, of Wiota, died from an apparent drowning during an accident involving a kayak, but it’s not clear when the man died.

He says that’s because there’s confusion as to when he actually entered the water.

(Smith says some witnesses saw him with the kayak Wednesday evening, but he wasn’t in the water at that time. He says it’s possible the man went into the lake Wednesday evening or earlier that afternoon.)

Anyone who might have seen Henderson enter the water is asked to call Brian Hayes at 712-254-0550.  The man’s overturned kayak was discovered by a passer by who reported it to the Park Manager at around 3-p.m., Thursday. Not longer afterward, Park Manager Josh Peach found the Kayak’s paddle. A little further down the shoreline, authorities discovered Henderson’s body.

An autopsy will be performed at the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner in Ankeny. Investigators did not find a personal floatation device at the scene.
DNR law enforcement will continue to investigate. Brian Smith says that Henderson’s death at Lake Anita was the first he’s heard of since the Lake opened 52-years ago.  He says outdoor enthusiasts need to take the proper precautions when they’re around large bodies of water.