LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Officials in Laurel County have confirmed that the body of 26-year-old John Myrick, a man who went missing after his boat capsized on Sunday, has been recovered.
Laurel County Deputy Sheriff and Public Affairs Officer Gilbert Acciardo confirmed that Myrick's body was recovered at 3:30 p.m. Friday.
The news comes after the multi-day search continued into Friday where more than five crews worked in what officials called a recovery mission.
Myrick reportedly fell from the boat around 12:15 p.m. May 3 after strong currents pulled it underwater near the 312 bridge in Southern Laurel County. Another man in the boat with Myrick at the time of the incident made it safely to shore.
According to previous reporting by LEX 18, searchers were dragging the lake on tethered boats and utilizing sonar to search near the dam due to the dangerous conditions caused by the current and debris in the water.
"We've sent down divers to help with the search as well, so you know it's conditions that are very limited visibility, and then you're basically searching by field," said London Police Department Public Information Officer Hobie Daugherty on Friday. "You know, they have a lot of equipment they help with in addition to that they help assist divers with underwater drones and sonar and things of that nature. But if you're down there as a person, it's you know, it's pretty much touch only. You can't see but a few inches in front of your face."
Search and rescue crews couldn’t have done it alone, and having the help of their community, the London Mayor’s office, and the London Police Department by their side gave them the energy to keep pushing forward.
The city donated money to bring food down to crews on Friday who have been tirelessly working all week.
"Our level of camaraderie and support, you know, even as employees, just runs deep, and that's something the mayor's office has really worked towards to have the cooperation between departments and things of that nature," admits Daugherty. "So it really goes to us just having their back, and so we were more than proud to be able to take that down there to them to give them some food in their bellies so they can keep working hard and bring closure to the families." (edited)
