College student drowns in lake

The water in the area where the victim drowned was about 8 to 10 feet deep.

TRANSFER, Pa. — Divers recovered the body of a 21-year-old man who disappeared while swimming with friends in Shenango River Lake in Mercer County.

The name of the victim wasn’t immediately released, pending the notification of his family. The man goes to college locally but wasn’t from the Mercer County area, said Phil Steele, Transfer fire chief.

Steele said the victim was boating with some friends on the lake and the group pulled into a cove known locally as Duck Lake, an area adjacent to the Shenango Recreation Area just off West Lake Road, to go swimming around 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

The man’s friends told authorities that he was swimming and floating around in the water but disappeared beneath the surface and didn’t come up, Steele said.

Recovering the body

Duck Lake is not a designated swimming area, but many boaters spend time in the cove.

The water is generally between 8 and 10 feet deep, Steele said.

Divers from the Clark, Jamestown and Sheakleyville volunteer fire departments were called to the scene and were able to recover the victim’s body, close to where he was last seen, around 6:25 p.m., Steele said.

J. Bradley McGonigle III, Mercer County coroner, pronounced the man dead at the scene. Steele said an autopsy will be performed today to determine the exact cause of death.

There was no indication that alcohol played any part in the death, Steele said, adding that there hadn’t been a drowning at Shenango River Lake in a number of years.