Body recovered Monday at Rocky Fork Lakes Conservation Area confirmed as missing fisherman
Authorities on Monday morning recovered the body of a man who was fishing Sunday before he went missing at Rocky Fork Lakes Conservation Area.
Michael L. Smith, 61, of St. Louis, was pronounced dead at 8:40 a.m. Monday by the Boone County medical examiner, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said. Smith's body was found after a search that began Sunday and continued into Monday morning.
The fatality was a drowning, the highway patrol reported. Next of kin has been notified.
An investigation into the death is being conducted by the Boone County Sheriff's Office, said Clint Walker, battalion chief with the Boone County Fire Protection District.
The fire district was called around 4:45 p.m. Sunday in relation to a missing person at the conservation area, Walker said. Responders searched the area from late Sunday afternoon until dusk Sunday night before resuming their search Monday morning. Crews found the body about an hour after the search effort resumed there Monday.
Equipment used in the search included boats and a GPS system, Walker said.
The 2,200-acre conservation area is located in Boone County about 6 miles north of Columbia near U.S. Highway 63.
There are over 60 lakes or ponds of significant size in the park, with a total surface area of 116 acres, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. The size of the main lake is over 50 acres.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Body of missing fisherman recovered at conservation area
