VERSAILLES, Ind. — Officials recovered the body of 18-year-old Carson Hughes in Versailles Lake, Sunday evening, according to a press release from Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Officers said they recovered his body while using Sonar in six feet of water at 6:50 p.m.
The Ripley County Coroner pronounced Hughes deceased. His cause of death is pending an autopsy.
Initially, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources said Ripley County dispatchers received a report at around 1:30 p.m. Friday about an 18-year-old man who went missing at Versailles Lake in Versailles State Park.
Officials said Carson Hughes' car was found unlocked with the keys still in the vehicle near the boat ramp on the lake. His kayak was also located on the water nearby. A camera and tripod belonging to Hughes, who is a wildlife photographer, were also found. Officials also found Hughes' shirt, they said.
Conservation officers and members of the Ripley County Sheriff's Office began searching the surrounding land Friday night and used thermal and side-scan sonar technologies to search the lake. Hughes was not found. Officials resumed their search just before 8 a.m. Saturday, and they focused on areas around the lake.
Josh Thomas, a conservation officer with the Department of Natural Resources, said they're working with multiple agencies, including Cincinnati Rescue team, Indiana State Police and more to search.
"We're using like sidescan sonar technology, thermal imaging. And then we have drones in the air helicopter in the air, that type of thing," Thomas said. "So we're going to exhaust the entire you know, the lake in the back and the creek here and then all the trails and the biking trails. Kind of the entire park."
He said there were two things complicating the search: rough terrain caused by weather earlier in the week and the scale of the search area.
Numerous people and organizations assisted in the search for Hughes. "Assisting agencies include the Ripley County Sheriff's Office, Coroner's Office, Indiana State Police Aviation, EMA, EMS, Health Department, Versailles Fire, Delaware Fire, Hamilton County Urban Search and Rescue, Friendship Fire, Batesville Fire, Buckeye Search and Rescue, Ohio Task Force One, Texas EquuSearch, Hamilton County Police Association Dive, and hundreds of civilian volunteers," Indiana DNR said.
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