First responders recovered a car from frozen-over Cheat Lake, but Monongalia County Sheriff Todd Forbes did not confirm if the deceased man inside was Kevin Lataille, who had gone missing during a snowstorm. A family member later stated on Facebook that the car recovered was Lataille’s, but the sheriff could not confirm this due to the ongoing investigation and sensitivity of the situation.

Using drone photography, the sheriff’s department located the submerged car in the ice and dive teams from Murrysville, Pa., and Morgantown Police worked to extract it. The recovery effort involved breaking through an eight-inch layer of ice to hoist the dark-colored SUV some 80 feet up to the bridge. The director of Murrysville Medical, Darrick Gerano, was the lone diver who went in to retrieve the car about 12 feet down.

Lataille had finished his shift at a restaurant and was driving home in a snowstorm when he went missing. His wife last heard from him around 12:50 p.m. when he mentioned seeing a sign for Lakeview Golf Resort and Spa. The recovery of the car provided closure to the family, but the sheriff did not confirm if the remains inside were indeed Lataille’s.