Stilesville man, 62, dies in Raccoon Lake incident

Sunday, April 12, 2015

RACCOON LAKE -- A 62-year-old Hendricks County man died Sunday after he was found floating unconscious in the water near the main boat ramp at Raccoon Lake, Indiana Conservation Officers reported.

Kenneth E. Goodman, of Stilesville, was pronounced dead a short time later at St. Vincent Clay Hospital, Brazil.

Goodman's wife, who had just assisted in launching the boat, found the vessel floating against the Raccoon Lake (aka Cecil M. Harden Lake) boat dock unsecured and unoccupied. She then noticed her husband floating in the water and unconscious.

Witnesses interviewed at the scene stated they did not see, or hear Goodman fall into the water, authorities said.

The victim had been last seen just a short time earlier in his boat as it left the boat ramp area.

Good samaritans nearby helped remove Goodman from the water and immediately began CPR. He was then taken by ambulance to the hospital in Brazil.

The 911 call came into the Parke County Sheriff's Dispatch at 10:52 a.m. from a witness on the scene at Raccoon Lake State Recreation Area.

Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating the death and an autopsy is scheduled to be conducted by forensic pathologist Roland Kohr at 3 p.m. Monday at Terre Haute Regional Hospital.

Goodman was not wearing a lifejacket at the time he was found, authorities said. Indiana Conservation Officers encourage all boaters to wear life jackets while on the water.

Responding agencies were Indiana Conservation Officers, Parke County Sheriff's Department, Bellmore Volunteer Fire Department and Parke County Ambulance Service.

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