A Pinedale man is missing and feared dead after he disappeared while swimming in Fremont Lake north of Pinedale.
The 52-year-old man was recreating with a group Wednesday afternoon. He was swimming in the northern end of the lake when he apparently went down in several hundred feet of water.
On Wednesday at about 1:30 pm, dispatchers received an alert from a SOS spot device that warned of a possible drowning incident at Moose Head Bay on Fremont Lake.
Officers from Sublette County Sheriff’s Department, members of Tip Top Search and Rescue, and Forest Service rangers met at the Upper Fremont Lake boat dock and talked to witnesses.
According to bystanders, Richard De Ruiter Zylker (last name is pronounced Rooter Zelker) of Pinedale was out with a large party of friends when he went under the water and did not resurface.
A search got underway in the Moose Head Bay and continued throughout the evening side-scan sonar. Thunderstorms made search conditions difficult and unsuccessful.
Searchers resumed their efforts Thursday, but De Ruiter Zylker has not been located.
Authorities are asking the public to avoid Moose Head Bay.
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