Body of missing boater on Lake Havasu found, identified

KINGMAN – The body of Rosario Carreon, 45, of Phoenix, who went missing Saturday, was discovered by Mohave County Sheriff’s deputies and divers from the Division of Boating Safety at about 8:20 a.m. Tuesday.

Carreon wasn’t wearing a life jacket when he left his rented pontoon boat for a swim in the area near Windsor Beach. Winds were reported at an estimated 20-30 mph Saturday afternoon, and the boat began to drift away from him. The passengers on the boat, a woman and child, attempted to toss the swimmer a life jacket but were unable to reach him before he went under water.

Authorities were called around 1 p.m., got the passengers to shore and began a search. A helicopter searched the water’s surface and shorelines for about two hours, and boats searched the region with side-scan sonar and remote-operated vehicles to scan the lake bottom. Crews searched until around midnight Saturday and did so again after beginning at first light Sunday. Sheriffs continued the search Monday and Tuesday, but their efforts were complicated by large waves, high winds, boat traffic and underwater obstructions.

While deputies searched Tuesday, a boater reported locating a body floating in the North Basin west of the Lake Havasu State Park. Carreon’s body was recovered and taken to the Mohave County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Information provided by the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office