Walter Powell

MUDDY CREEK TWP — A little more than two hours into the second day of their search, Moraine State Park staff on Saturday found the body of Walter C. Powell floating in Lake Arthur.

Powell, 51, of Richland Township, Allegheny County, was reported missing Friday.

He had parked his pickup truck at Bear Run Boat Launch and launched a canoe there to go fishing about 7 p.m. Thursday. His son drove to the park and found his truck in the lot Friday morning.

Park staff and volunteer firefighters spent all day Friday scanning the shoreline of the lake in search of any evidence of Powell, his boat or his fishing gear.

The search effort resumed at 8 a.m. Saturday with even more volunteer and specialized emergency responders.

About 10:20 a.m., staff aboard a Department of Conservation and Natural Resources boat spotted the body floating in the water near Crescent Bay off the lake's south shore, park manager Dustin Drew said.

A Butler County deputy coroner was called to the park and family members confirmed the identity of the body later that morning, according to a news release issued by county Emergency Services.

The family asked for privacy as they mourn the loss of Powell, according to the release.

Drew said it is unknown exactly what happened to Powell, but said the cold water could have been a factor.

“He entered the water at some point, and that's a difficult situation to be in,” he said.

Deputy coroner John Hanovick said Saturday that the cause of death was drowning. He had ordered a toxicology report, but was not going to have an autopsy done, he said.

Powell was not violating any park rules as fishermen are allowed to launch boats on the lake at any hour, Drew said.

“It's unfortunate that we have these cold water incidents. It would be nice if more of them could be prevented,” he said.

The park staff had prepared for a lengthy search and brought in a lot of manpower and specialized teams.

There were 61 vehicles parked at the boat launch Saturday. After focusing on scanning the shoreline and surveying the lake from above on Friday, the crews Saturday used boats equipped with sonar, search dogs and teams on land to look for Powell.

Searchers had found some fishing gear on the shore near Crescent's Bay late in the day Friday that they suspected belonged to Powell, Drew said. His boat was never found.

The responders included park staff, county Emergency Services, Butler County Team 300, Portersville-Muddy Creek Township Fire Department, Prospect Fire Department, Unionville Fire Department dive team, LifeFlight, Allegheny Mountain Search and Rescue, Parker City Water Rescue, Greensburg Water Rescue, Lower Kiski Team 300, Vandergrift Water Rescue, Murrysville Dive Team, Butler Ambulance and the Salvation Army canteen.