Search Continues for Two Missing Utah Men

Search Continues for Two Missing Utah Men


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Amanda Butterfield ReportingSearch and recovery efforts are under way in California for two Utahns involved in a boat wreck there over the weekend. It happened on Lake Havasu, between the borders of California and Arizona.

It’s a place boaters head to for fun, but fun turned disastrous for three Utah men over the weekend when their boat wrecked. According to authorities with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, Corey and Michael Christophersen of Farmington, along with a friend Patrick Wilburn were going about 65 miles an hour in a speed boat when it hit some waves, became airborne, then crashed nose first into the water, shattering the front of the boat. Authorities believe the men were drinking.

Chip Patterson, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department: “A lot of these collisions occur because people are drinking on the river and they make bad mistakes and judgment, or go too fast, or they’re not paying attention.”

Witnesses pulled Corey from the wreckage, but his brother Michael and friend Patrick have yet to be found.

Divers and helicopters have been out looking for the two missing men ever since, but recent rains have made the water murky, limiting visibility. Still searchers and family remain hopeful.

The sole survivor, Corey suffered internal injuries from the wreck. He is in critical but stable condition at a Phoenix hospital.

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