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RICHFIELD, Sevier County — Authorities have recovered the body of a 13-year-old boy after the boat he was in capsized on Fish Lake in Sevier County on Friday morning.
The boy's body was recovered about 8:30 p.m. on Saturday after efforts from the Utah DPS dive team, Utah State Parks and Wasatch County Sheriff's Office Search, Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis said.
The boy was then transported to shore where a medical examiner investigator and Sevier County Sheriff's Office investigators were on scene.
Search efforts were also assisted by immediate family members who contacted rescue teams and provided a cell phone tracking log through the "Life360" app. The app showed approximate times and locations of where both the father and son's phones were. This information allowed search teams to modify the search area and include the location which had not been included initially, a Sevier County Sheriff's Office statement said.
"If it had not been for the family and the app information they provided, we would not have found him as quick as we did. We would have found him eventually, but not near as quickly," Curtis said.
The search began on Friday after some fisherman on Fish Lake had turned their boat motor off to reel in a fish and heard someone yelling. The group found 36-year-old Christopher Winslow holding onto a capsized boat on the east side of Fish Lake, according to the statement. Winslow was pulled into the boat and taken to the shore where first aid was administered.
Winslow said his 13-year-old son was with him but the fishermen had not seen the 13-year-old, Curtis said. Fish Lake Lodge Resort employees went back out to where the capsized boat and started searching the area, he added.
Winslow was transported to the hospital to be treated for exposure and search and rescue began searching the surface of the lake for the 13-year-old boy.
The father and son had been fishing all night with another friend. At 3:14 a.m., Winslow dropped the friend off at the Fish Lake Lodge Marina and went back out fishing with his son, according to Curtis.
The boat Winslow and his son were in capsized between 5:14 a.m. and 5:21 a.m. and neither were wearing life jackets at the time of the accident, Curtis added. The pair attempted to call 911 but due to the location, the call was unable to make a good connection. Dispatchers attempted to call the number back several times but were unable to make contact.
Winslow and his son were holding onto opposite ends of the boat. At some point, the son let go of the boat and began sinking, Curtis said. Winslow swam down but was unable to bring his son back to the surface.
"I want to thank all our partners from the Utah DPS dive team, Utah State Parks, Utah Fire Marshall's office, and the Wasatch County Sheriff's search and rescue team. They provided resources that we do not have in our county and because of their help, we were able to bring this young man home to his family to hopefully provide some comfort in this tragedy," Curtis said in a statement.
The name of the boy was not released.
