Body of Robert Sims recovered

Thursday, September 22, 2016 ~ Updated 4:22 PM
Indiana Conservation Officers search Big Walnut Creek for the body of Robert Sims earlier this week. Sims' body was found on Thursday morning, having been missing for five days.
Banner Graphic/JARED JERNAGAN

The body of the Fillmore man missing on Big Walnut Creek since Saturday evening was recovered Thursday morning.

Robert Sims, 27, went missing while kayaking with a friend when the creek was high after a rain storm.

Both Putnam County Sheriff Scott Stockton and Coroner Dave Brown confirmed the discovery for the Banner Graphic.

The body was recovered around 11 a.m. Thursday, at which time Coroner Brown and his staff officially became involved.

Sims’ body was found in the extreme northeastern corner of Greencastle Township, west of County Road 275 East and upstream of the abandoned Pinhook Bridge.

Pin shows were body was recovered.

He was found within a quarter mile of where his kayak capsized.

Brown said he and his staff had been involved in the search for several days, although only as volunteer searchers until Sims’ body was actually found Thursday morning. Brown estimated his department had put in 65-70 hours of searching before they were called on Thursday.

“My deputies and I have been out every day in order to give his family a bit of peace of mind and we did that today,” Brown said.

He praised all involved agencies for their dedication.

Sims’ body will be taken to Dr. Roland Kohr in Terre Haute for an autopsy Friday morning.

“Looks like a straightforward drowning, but we’ll have more idea after Dr. Kohr’s autopsy,” Brown said.

Sims and an unidentified friend went kayaking on Big Walnut around 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Both men’s boats capsized, and while the companion made it to shore, Sims attempted to recover his kayak and never made it back.

The friend then had to hike 30-45 minutes to the nearest residence before emergency responders could be notified.

The Putnam County Sheriff’s Department and Greencastle Fire Department were the first agencies dispatched, but they soon called in Indiana Conservation Officers to lead the search.

That night, a team of four conservation officers led a rescue operation that also included responders from the sheriff’s department, Greencastle Police, Greencastle and Bainbridge firefighters and Putnam County Operation Life.

As the search moved into recovery phase, teams of two Conservation Officers were out each day, first in motorized watercraft then on kayaks as the water level continued to drop.

On Wednesday evening and again on Thursday, volunteers from the Putnam County Community Emergency Response Team aided in the search. Twenty CERT members responded to the call.

CERT and Emergency Management Agency member Dr. Perry Wainman volunteered the use of his airplane for help in the search. The plane had been up for about 10 minutes when a Conservation Officer on the water located the body.

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  • so sorry for all involved

    -- Posted by talkymom3 on Thu, Sep 22, 2016, at 2:36 PM
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