Menu
Sunken ATVs involved in fatal incident recovered from Heritage Lake
HERITAGE LAKE -- The Indiana Conservation Officers scuba team has recovered two All-Terrain Vehicles from Heritage Lake in Putnam County, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Law Enforcement has announced.
The two ATVs were being operated on the frozen lake in close proximity to each other on Feb. 2, when they went through the ice.
One ATV driver, Brett Crowder, 48, Coatesville (Heritage Lake), drowned. The other ATV driver, John Roberts, 47, Coatesville (Heritage Lake), escaped.
Roberts, who was not belted into his vehicle, made it out of the icy water and reached the shoreline near the marina. There he was picked up and helped into a vehicle by Reserve Deputy Ken Rozelle, who resides at the lake.
Indiana Conservation Officer scuba divers, along with Indianapolis Fire Department and Pike Township scuba divers recovered the victim's body on Feb. 2. Crowder, who was still belted into his ATV when divers discovered him in more than 30 feet of water, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Putnam County coroner.
The drowning victim's ATV was recovered Feb. 12. The other ATV was recovered March 21.
Side imaging sonar was used to locate both ATVs in the 35-foot-deep water. Divers attached commercial lift bags to the machines to raise them to the surface to be towed to shore.
Adam's Towing Service of Bainbridge removed the ATVs from the water.
A lift bag is an airtight bag made from high-strength synthetic base fabrics that have been coated with urethane. The lift bags are equipped with connecting straps that can be attached to heavy objects then filled with air for buoyancy to bring the object to the surface. Once at the surface, the heavy object can be towed by a boat to a suitable location for removal.
The Indiana Conservation Officers public safety scuba team divers are trained to perform numerous underwater tasks such as evidence recovery, vehicle recovery, body recovery, and various other investigations and operations for the DNR throughout the state.
The fatal Feb. 2 incident began to unfold about 1:15 p.m. when three men ice fishing near the dam witnessed two ATVs "driving fast, doing spin-outs and doing doughnuts on the ice," Putnam County Sheriff Scott Stockton told the Banner Graphic.
The vehicles then reportedly sped across the lake to the northeast, where the fishermen lost sight of them when the off-road vehicles went into the water.
The incident occurred with air temperatures at 44 degrees and the ice unstable in the deeper areas of the lake. The ice in the area where the vehicles broke through was approximately two inches thick, authorities reported.