Trending
WARREN -- The body pulled from Mosquito Lake was confirmed Tuesday to be a Cortland teen who was reported missing Thursday by a family member.
Travis Jay Shaffer, 16, died from accidental drowning, said Trumbull County Coroner Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk.
Searchers began looking for Shaffer at the lake around 9 a.m. Thursday, which is about when the blue 2004 Ford Taurus he was driving was spotted at the state park. His mother reported to the Trumbull County 911 Center that Shaffer had been missing since about 1:30 a.m. Thursday.
His body was discovered about 2:15 p.m. Friday and was brought to shore by divers about one hour later.
Shaffer was found with sonar between the boat launch ramps and the beach in nearly 16 feet of water in dense aquatic vegetation, said Eric Heiss, spokesman with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. He was about 150 yards away from where it's believed he entered the water and 100 yards from the shore, Heiss said.
Search efforts were concentrated in the area where the vehicle was found. Searchers also found a pair of shoes by his car and a pair of flip-flop sandals near the water on the beach, Heiss said.
There were no visible wounds on Shaffer's body when he was pulled from the water, Heiss said.
Nearly 50 first-responders from three counties on Thursday searched the lake and surrounding woods for Shaffer. About 40 people participated on Friday. Search dogs were used on land and three boats equipped with sonar were among the effort on the lake.
"Divers were ready to dive so when they did find him on the sonar, the divers went in," Heiss said.