Indiana Conservation Officers along with the Fishers Police Department and Fishers Fire Department responded to a call of a missing paddle boarder Sunday at Saxony Lake in Fishers.
At approximately 3:23 p.m. Sunday afternoon, agencies were dispatched to the 13000 block of Pennington Road in Fishers in reference to a paddle boarder the fell into the water and began to struggle before going under.
A witness entered the water in attempt to render aid, but was unsuccessful making it to the victim. Upon arrival, Fishers Police and Fire divers entered the water in attempt to locate the victim.
Saxony Beach and Lake is a 20 acre area where people come to swim and on the weekends can rent kayaks and paddle boards, according to the lake’s website.
“Family was in the area with him,” said Fishers Fire Department Captain John Mehling. “Our information is that he was on a paddle board by himself. There was a life preserver attached to the paddle board, but he did not have that on.”
After two hours, crews switched to recovery mode, calling in Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources and sonar technology. By 8 o’clock Sunday night, they located Penner in about 11 feet of water.
“DNR divers were able to locate him using sonar technology and the victim has been recovered at this time,” said Captain Mehling.
It’s not clear, say emergency crews, why Pinner wasn’t wearing a life vest. It’s not known if Pinner was an experienced paddle boarder.
“This is one of those situations where we always encourage people to use flotation devices whenever they’re in the water, even for people who know how to swim,” said Captain Mehling.
Indiana Conservation Officers arrived with sonar and were able to locate the victim and place divers in the direct vicinity.
At 7:51 p.m. An Indiana Conservation Officer diver and a Fishers Police Department Diver recovered the victim.
The victim has been identified as Anthony Pinner Jr., 39, of Indianapolis. Investigators have learned through interviews, that Pinner could swim, but the exact cause of the incident is still under investigation.
An autopsy will be conducted tomorrow morning to determine the cause of death.
A life jacket was located attached to the paddle board, but was not in use at the time of the incident. Indiana Conservation Officers would like to remind the public to always wear your life jacket.
