Authorities were expected to resume their search early Thursday for a man who went missing on Shawano Lake after diving in to rescue his son.
The 10-year-old boy made it to safety, but rescue crews spent most of the day Wednesday trying to find his father.
The search, which the sheriff’s department is now calling a recovery effort, was suspended for the night about 8:30 Wednesday.
The incident occurred shortly before 11 a.m. during a family tubing excursion in windy and rough-water conditions near the lake’s southern shore.
Shawano County Sheriff Adam Bieber said the boy was rescued about an hour later after he was able to find shallow water and was found standing on high ground.
“The boy is very lucky,” Bieber said, noting that conditions had created strong currents in the lake.
Bieber said the boy’s father jumped into the water after his son slipped and drifted away while trying to climb back into the boat after tubing.
Neither the boy nor his father was wearing a life jacket, the sheriff said.
Also on the pontoon-style boat at the time of the incident were the boy’s younger brother and their grandfather.
A woman who identified herself as Laura Matthews, the missing man’s wife and the two boys’ stepmother, said the family was visiting their lakefront vacation home on Cedar Court. She identified her husband as Norman Robertson and the 10-year-old boy as Norman Robertson Jr.
Authorities would not confirm the identities Wednesday.
The woman stayed behind when the others embarked on the morning boating and tubing excursion.
Bieber said after the man jumped into the lake to help his son, the boat drifted away from both of them quickly. Other occupants tried to steer back, but the vessel got tangled on a tow rope and continued to drift farther away from the two people in the water.
The sheriff estimated the water’s depth at 10 feet to 15 feet.
The Shawano County dive team conducted the search with assistance from the sheriff’s department, the state Department of Natural Resources, the Shawano Area Fire Department and several private citizens. A helicopter and airplane conducted an aerial search.
Search boats were launched from behind the Sunset Grill tavern on Cedar Court.
Bieber estimated that at least 50 people and 10 boats were involved in the search and rescue effort.
“We’re trying to cover as much area as possible,” he said.
