Body of 51-year-old Winlock man recovered from Mayfield Lake

SILVER CREEK, Wash. -- The body of a 51-year-old Winlock man who apparently drowned in Mayfield Lake on Sept. 2 was recovered Monday with the help of divers from the Thurston County Sheriff's Office, the Lewis County Sheriff's Office said.

Dive team members used a submersible device with a camera to locate the body in 65 feet of water in Mayfield Lake, the sheriff's office said. The man’s body was found between a cliff wall and a log approximately 25 feet away from where he was last seen, on Sept. 2, jumping off a cliff into the water with a friend.

There was no sign of foul play, the sheriff's office said. An autopsy will occur later in the week.

On Sept. 2, a friend of the victim said the two of them had been swimming in the area of Ike Kinswa State Park boat launch and were jumping from a 30-foot cliff into the water.

The witness said he heard his friend hit the water. However, when he turned around, he could not locate his friend. He swam to shore and then spent about one hour searching the lake bank for his friend, the sheriff's office said.