LAKE COUNTY — A body found in the murky waters of Clear Lake Wednesday is believed to be that of Matthew Zanoni, 22, of Windsor. Matthew Zanoni went missing Saturday while on his way to BoardStock with a group of friends in an 18-foot Tracker pontoon boat, according to a Wednesday press release from the Lake County Sheriff”s Office.
County District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown, who joined in the search Wednesday morning, confirmed that the body was found among tule reeds on the west side of Buckingham Point off of West Lake Drive, within roughly 50 feet of the shore. County supervisor Rob Brown said the body had drifted according to wind conditions and currents as Simpkins projected.
“I looked over in the tules and I thought I saw something out of the ordinary,” Brown said. “As I was trying to focus in on what it was, Matt”s dad said, ?we found him.””
The body was taken to a mortuary in Lake County, and no positive identification has yet been made. Lt. Cecil Brown of the Lake County Sheriff”s Office said that positive identification is not possible right now because of the condition of the body.
“Based on the location of the recovery and the physical characteristics of the deceased man, we believe it is likely that it is the body of Matthew Zanoni that was found,” writes Lt. Cecil Brown in the release.
Sheriff Rodney Mitchell said an autopsy scheduled for today and the coroner”s investigation will determine the cause of death and establish positive identification.
County supervisor Rob Brown and county lakebed manager Skip Simpkins met Matthew Zanoni”s father, Mike, Wednesday morning with Skip Simpkins of the lakebed management division of the county”s department of public works. County supervisor Rob Brown got involved after he received a call from Matthew Zanoni”s sister Jennifer in Windsor asking him for help. Long-time friends of the Rodrigues family, county supervisor Rob Brown aided in the search for Ashlee Rodrigues, who was found in the lake after a 45-day search last summer.
Matthew Zanoni and his party had stopped at Buckingham Point near Shag Rock so that passengers could go to the bathroom, according to Jennifer Zanoni. Witnesses on the boat said Matthew Zanoni fell overboard from the front of the boat and did not resurface, and he had been drinking alcoholic beverages and was not wearing a life jacket. An LCSO press release says the pontoon boat”s location was determined to be between 100 and 150 feet north of Shag Rock, just west of the Buckingham Peninsula.
Jennifer Zanoni said she”s been on a non-stop quest for answers ever since she found out Saturday that her brother was missing. She said the LCSO was not cooperative in the search for her brother. “They could”ve extended their effort and I don”t understand why they did not,” she said.
Jennifer Zanoni said she was told by Lt. Gary Basor of the LCSO marine patrol unit that the search was called off indefinitely Tuesday evening.
A press release Wednesday penned by Basor says the LCSO search and rescue teams and marine patrol continued the search, but that it had been “scaled down significantly.”
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
