Family identifies Enon Beach drowning victim

The body of a man who went missing while swimming at Enon Beach Saturday afternoon has been recovered after a six-hour search.

The victim was identified by family members as Joe Hartz, 44. His body was pulled from the water around 6:40 p.m.

Family members told officials the victim had been drinking, and swam out to the middle of the lake while holding a can of beer. The victim went under water and never resurfaced.

The victim was reportedly attending a birthday party.

Rescue crews searched for more than seven hours before retrieving Hartz’s body from the water. His body was found around 6:40 p.m. in an area of the water that was 12 feet deep, officials said.

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office, CareFlight rescue helicopters, Clark County Underwater Recovery team, Springfield Fire Rescue, Mad River Twp. Enon Fire and EMS, Hustead EMS and Bethel Township all responded to the scene. CareFlight flew over the beach for approximately 10 minutes, but saw no activity underwater.

About 50 campers watched as dive team members searched several hours for the body, many in disbelief. Debra Leffel of Lancaster is spending the summer camping at Enon Beach.

“It’s been wonderful until something like this happens,” Leffel said. “It could happen to anybody.”

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