STANTON, NE — A lengthy search is over today after authorities, led by the Stanton County Sheriff’s Office, located the body of a missing man.
Officials fought the elements over five days to recover the body of 55-year-old Eddie Myrick from Maskenthine Lake. Myrick was reported missing around 5:30 Sunday night and was last seen riding his motorcycle on the iced-over lake.
Authorities suspended the search on Monday because of weather concerns. Their breakthrough came on Wednesday, when Stanton County Sheriff Mike Unger says they spotted Myrick’s helmet in the ice.
Special rescue dive teams from Hadar and Yankton, South Dakota, assisted in recovering the body on Thursday.
“The actual process of getting it out only took about, after we realized it was his body, actually took only about 20 or 25 minutes,” Sheriff Unger said. “We weren’t forced to actually go into the water. We were able to, basically, chip away and cut away at the ice and remove it that way.”
Unger says the incident is still under investigation.
“We believe that it was an accident, a very unfortunate accident involving a motor vehicle, but we will conduct further investigation to make sure that’s the case,” Sheriff Unger said.
Maskenthine Lake remains closed to the public because of safety concerns.
