(Stuart, Iowa) – Officials with the Stuart Fire Department, late Saturday night, confirmed divers recovered the body of a 35-year-old man who disappeared while swimming in Diamond Head Lake, Saturday afternoon. According to a press release, authorities were notified at around 4:40-p.m. that a male swimmer had gone under the water and never resurfaced. Stuart Fire and Rescue and the Midwest Regional Dive Team responded to the scene.

Upon arrival, fire crews secured the area and were assisted by local boat owners, while using underwater sonar to try and locate the victim. Witnesses said they had seen the swimmer go beyond the roped-off swimming area, and appeared to have struggled before he went under water. He never resurfaced.

The Dive Team arrived at around 6:25-p.m. and organized a plan to search the area. Their search resulted in the locating of the victim’s body a little after 7:45-p.m., in the same area he was last seen by witnesses. The man’s body was pulled from the water at around 8:10-p.m. and transferred to the care of Stuart Rescue. The victim was then transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny, for autopsy. The man’s name was not immediately released, and the incident remained under investigation, with no further details provided.

Agencies assisting at the scene included:

• Stuart Fire Department
• Stuart Rescue
• Stuart Police
• Adair and Guthrie County Emergency Management
• Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office
• Audubon County EMA
• Midwest Regional Dive Team, and
• the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR).