Woman’s body recovered from reservoir

Husband used flares to help Clark County deputies find boat Monday night.

A woman boating with her husband on C.J. Brown Reservoir on Monday evening reportedly fell into the water, and her body was recovered later by first responders.

The body of Ellen Hamm, 54, of Fieldbrook Drive, was pulled from the water by members of the Clark County Underwater Dive Rescue Team on Monday night.

At 9:25 p.m., the Clark County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from a man on a boat at the reservoir. The man, later identified as Jeff Hamm, said that his wife had gone overboard.

The man also said he could not locate his wife after she had fallen off the boat, according to a release from the sheriff’s office.

When deputies arrived at the scene, they spotted signal flares cast from the boat with the husband out on the water. A bystander took the deputies out on the lake in a boat to meet with the boat from where Ellen Hamm had fallen.

Deputies later located Ellen Hamm’s body in the water and determined she was dead.

A coroner’s investigator had responded to the scene by 11:15 p.m. An autopsy was performed Tuesday, but the results had not been released yet.

Jeff Hamm received medical attention at the scene before talking with deputies for their investigation, said Lt. Christopher Clark of the Criminal Investigations Division.

The question of what caused Hamm to go overboard remained under investigation Tuesday, but it is not believed that alcohol was a factor.

The drowning remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office and the Clark County Coroner’s Office.

Deputies said other boats were out on the water at the time of the drowning.

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