Missing boater's body found

A man who headed out to fish on Utah Lake on Monday was found Saturday afternoon when his body finally floated to the surface.

Rescue workers trolled the murky waters of the 96,900-acre lake for three days until they turned to recovery mode, looking for the body of Lon Thongthipvoravong, of Orem. Saturday afternoon just before 1 p.m., a person riding a personal watercraft noticed some clothing floating on the surface and notified police. It turned out to be the man they were looking for.

"The family took it pretty hard at first, but I guess it is good they finally got the closure they need," said Utah County Sheriff's Lt. Dave Bennett. At least one member of the man's family had been with searchers every day of the week, while others stood on the Lindon boat harbor awaiting any news.

It was the first drowning incident on the lake this year.

Bennett said the 32-year-old Laos native apparently drowned when his boat, which set out to go south from the American Fork shoreline, was hit with a large wave and capsized on Monday. At the time, winds reached 10 to 15 knots, or 11 to 17 mph, and created large waves on the lake.

The temperature hovered in the mid-60s and low 70s during the five-day search, not quite getting warm enough to bring the body up to ground level.

Officials anticipated Thursday would be the earliest they'd spot a body in the water. Later in the summer, when the water has a chance to heat up a bit, a body could surface from the average 10-foot depth in three days, Bennett said.

"There was supposed to be sufficient life vests in the boat, but it happened so fast, only four of six people were able to get them on," he said. Thongthipvoravong supposedly held on to a seat cushion and/or other parts of the boat to remain afloat as long as possible.

Police weren't called to search for him and another missing man until more than three hours after the boat was consumed by water that evening. Four survivors were found along the shore near the Sleepy Ridge Golf Course, while the fifth remained in the water nearly eight hours until he was spotted by search and rescue crews using night-vision goggles. He was pulled from the lake and said that thoughts of his family kept him alive.

It was a fairly new watercraft, Bennett said, adding that the fishing trip was perhaps only the first or second time Thongthipvoravong had used the 19-footer. It has yet to be recovered from the lake but was found Thursday.

Officials recommend even experienced sportsmen and women wear life vests, especially in rough water. But more importantly, "if you're not going to have it on, know where it is and how to get to it in a hurry in case something happens," Bennett said.

The freshwater lake is a popular game fishing spot, as it houses numerous species and is fairly shallow. Last July, 25-year-old Craig Decker, of West Jordan, drowned while sailing with his parents on a catamaran on the lake. He dove in to retrieve some sinking equipment. Crews recovered his body three days later.

E-MAIL: wleonard@desnews.com