Solo diver missing - Millerton Lake, Madera, California

[DandyDon]

https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/local-news/diver-missing-at-millerton-lake-following-christmas-eve-plunge-deputies-say/

MADERA, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE)- The Madera County Sheriff’s Office says a person is missing after going for a dive at Millerton Lake on Christmas Eve.

According to deputies, the person had gone on a solo dive in the Meadow Campground area of the lake in the afternoon.

Search and rescue crews were searching the area around 6:30 p.m. searching on foot along the shore, and launched aircraft with thermal technology to scan the water and land.

The diver has still not been found. Crews will resume their search on Christmas morning.

Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact the Madera County Sheriff’s Office at (559) 675-7770.

 

[Julius SCHMIDT]

Fortunate then he didn't take anyone else with him

 

[DandyDon]

The unnamed diver was a frequent visitor to the lake. The town of Millerton near Fresno was removed and flooded in 1944 when the dam was finished, effectively killing the San Joaquin River. A funnel cloud was reported nearby the day he went missing, the lake is 50% fuller than average unlike others in the state, and the weather this week includes highs around 50F and lows in the 30s. He was not found Saturday.

 

[DandyDon]

https://kmph.com/news/local/madera-sheriffs-continue-search-for-missing-diver-at-millerton-lake

The Madera County Sheriff’s Office says they have recovered a body from Millerton Lake Sunday around 11:30 a.m.

According to Search and Rescue officials, it is believed that the body recovered from Millerton could be the diver that went missing on Friday.

Positive identification is pending, however, following an evaluation by the coroner's office.

 

[DandyDon]

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article256863992.html

The man whose body was recovered Sunday at Millerton Lake was described as an experienced diver and a Fresno-area neurologist. The Madera County Sheriff’s Office, which led two days of searching for a missing diver at the lake, identified him as 55-year-old Melvin Helm. California Scuba Center in Clovis shared information Sunday on its Facebook page:

“It is with a very heavy heart that we share with you, our diving family, that we lost one of our own on Christmas Eve. Mel Helm was a very experienced diver who routinely conducted solo dives. For reasons unknown at this time, he went for a dive on Christmas Eve at Millerton Lake and never resurfaced.