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Body of missing boater found

Man had fallen into Mosquito Lake Sunday

BAZETTA — The body of missing boater John Schuster, 51, was recovered about 10:50 a.m. Wednesday on Mosquito Lake, according to Stephanie Leis, communications director for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Trumbull County Coroner Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk will perform an autopsy on Schuster Friday to determine the cause of death, according to a spokeswoman for the cornoner’s office.

The ODNR officers, who had used three watercraft throughout the length of the three-day search, located the body in the middle of the southern half of the 18-mile long reservoir, Leis said.

“The three search dogs had narrowed the search to this area and our ODNR personnel came through,” Leis said.

According to Sgt. Josh Orwick, who headed the ODNR search team at Mosquito Lake, the water temperature of the lake has been about 66 degrees since Sunday.

The search party was hampered most of the time by choppy waters caused by high winds. A channel in the middle of the lake was about 20 feet deep, according to Bazetta firefighters.

Family and friends of Schuster kept vigil during the daylight search all four days on the banks of the lake near the boat launch located near Bazetta Township Park.

Schuster, of the Girard area, and another man went into the water about 10:30 a.m. Sunday after their canoe capsized on a choppy lake. Boaters passing by were able to get the other unidentified man safely out of the water.

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