Officials recover body of 21-year-old drowning victim

Stock photo courtesy of Grand County Sheriff's Office, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Following a four-day search, officials recovered the body of a 21-year-old California man who died Monday in a drowning accident in the Colorado River.

A screenshot of the Moab Daily Map showing the area of Big Bend where a 21-year-old man is presumed to have died in a drowning accident on the Colorado River in Utah | Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management, St. George News
A screenshot of the Moab Daily Map showing the area of Big Bend where a 21-year-old man is presumed to have died in a drowning accident on the Colorado River in Utah | Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management, St. George News

At approximately 6 p.m. Monday, Grand County dispatch was advised of a possible drowning near the Big Bend Campground, approximately 7 miles upstream from Moab, the Grand County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Richard Lheureux had reportedly been swimming in the area of Big Bend and was not wearing a life jacket.

“(Lheureux) had just swam through an area of white water and was in calmer water when he went underwater,” officials said Tuesday, adding that Lheureux was estimated to have been approximately 20 feet from the river’s bank.

Following an extensive four-day search, Lheureux was found Friday approximately half a mile downstream from the last place he had been seen, the Sheriff’s Office said Sunday.

Lheureux’s body was transported to the Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.

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5 Comments

  • DesertBill August 29, 2016 at 5:47 am

    Very sad to hear, especially since he had left the white water and was in calmer water. Ironic that his last name means the happy one.

    • .... August 29, 2016 at 8:27 am

      It’s sad he passed on but at least now the family can do what needs to be done and get some closure and try to move on with life. and they will always have their memories of him. …my condolences

      • Bob August 29, 2016 at 11:58 am

        there he goes again with his “condolences”. Is your change in behavior from a new batch of heavy-duty psychotropic drugs from the psych ward or what?

        • .... August 29, 2016 at 2:48 pm

          My condolences to your family because of you

  • .... August 29, 2016 at 8:30 am

    Good choice of pictures. sure wouldn’t want to see Bender have a spastic attack !

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