Searchers recover body from lake

HOPE — Authorities believe a body recovered from Lake Pend Oreille on Thursday is that of Jeremy Robert Heckert, who disappeared after reportedly jumping from a boat on July 10.

A sonar crew from Ralston & Associates located the body of a male after about two and a half hours of searching, said Bonner County sheriff Det. Sgt. Gary Johnston.

A positive identification is pending via autopsy, although it is strongly believed to be Heckert’s. The body was found in the vicinity of where Heckert was last seen.

An autopsy by the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office is slated for Monday. The results of a toxicological examination are expected to take at least a month, Johnston said.

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