BETHEL, Ohio — A body recovered from the East Fork State Park lake early Monday morning was that of a 14-year-old boy who went missing while swimming, the Clermont County Coroner's Office said.
Andy Chow, the spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), said they first received a call around 6:49 p.m. Sunday reporting a person had gone missing in Harsha Lake.
Officials said they were told the missing person was a 14-year-old boy, who was last seen swimming outside of the designated swim zone.
The boy's body was recovered at 12:47 a.m., Chow said. The Hamilton County Coroner's Office performed an autopsy Monday morning, but the Clermont County Coroner's Office said he expects the teen's death to be ruled a drowning.
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The Hamilton County Coroner's Office did not include the teen on Monday morning's report, but the agency did identify a man who drowned at the same lake one day before, on Saturday.
That investigation is still underway and officials have not provided many details. The Hamilton County coroner identified that person as 49-year-old Michael McCaffrey.
ODNR told WCPO that over the last five years, there have been no drownings related to boating at East Fork State Park's lake, but there have been four non-boating-related drownings since 2020, including the two from this past weekend. One drowning occurred in 2021, with the other reported death from 2022.
Hear more from ODNR in the video below:
