photo by: Contributed Photo/Douglas County Sheriff's Office

A Douglas County Sheriff's Office vehicle responds to a search for a missing boater at Lake View Lake, Tuesday, April 28, 2020.

Story updated at 3:40 p.m. Wednesday:

A Lawrence man’s body was pulled from Lake View Lake Wednesday morning after he had not returned to shore Tuesday afternoon.

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded around 4 p.m. Tuesday to a report that Stanley Leroy Shepard Jr., 66, had been seen on the water in a boat, and callers were concerned that he had not returned to the shore with a storm approaching, Deputy Charlie Cooper said via email.

Cooper said after an initial search of the lake, which is about 6 miles northwest of downtown Lawrence at East 1125 and North 1876 roads, deputies found the small rowboat Shepard had been in unoccupied.

The search was suspended at nightfall and resumed in the morning as a recovery effort with the help of the Douglas County Search and Recovery Team. Shepard’s body was recovered from the lake around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Cooper said.

Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical, Wakarusa Township Fire Department and Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism assisted with the search, Cooper said.

Asked whether there was any indication what could have caused this incident, Cooper said “We won’t have that information until an autopsy is completed.”

Lake View Lake