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WASATCH COUNTY, Utah, Nov. 18, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — Officials are asking for the public’s help locating a life jacket that may be connected to a drowning in Strawberry Reservoir.
The Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Saturday night that the body of an adult male, Benjamin S. Magalis, 24 , from Goodhue, Minnesota, has been recovered from the reservoir.
According to a WCSO Facebook post, it appears that the victim, who was recovered by Search and Rescue crews, “may have drowned while canoeing near Chicken Creek West.”
He was reportedly camping with 26-year-old Chenoa L. Plank, from Sugar House, earlier in the week, the WCSO post says. Plank has not been located.
A Sunday Facebook post from WCSO said: “We need to find a gray life jacket that was likely on Strawberry Reservoir this week.
“If you were on Strawberry Reservoir this week, Nov. 12-16, and picked up a gray colored life jacket, please call our dispatch center at 435-654-1411.
“We know several other items involved in this incident were innocently picked out of the water this week. If a gray life jacket was picked up by a fisherman or passing boater, it could potentially change our search area in a significant way.
“Please call us if you have any information about seeing or finding a gray life jacket on Strawberry Reservoir this week.”
The post has been shared nearly 700 times.
Both Magalis and Plank worked at a local ski resort and had gone camping last Sunday, Nov. 11, near Strawberry Reservoir.
Plank’s father called Wasatch County 911 Center on Thursday night to report his daughter missing after she didn’t return home when expected.
The woman’s dog was found, uninjured and wearing a life vest, on an island in the reservoir on Friday morning. It has been reunited with family, the Facebook post says.
Search and Rescue crews are continuing to search Sunday.
The Saturday sheriff’s office post concluded: “We are deeply saddened for the Magalis family and everyone involved. We appreciate all of the Search and Rescue teams, including those from Wasatch and Summit Counties, the Department of Public Safety, and Utah State Parks for their hard work and sacrifices. We also appreciate our EMS crew, dispatchers, and law enforcement for their professionalism and skill through this difficult situation.”
The State Medical Examiner’s Office is investigating Magalis’ death and will determine the official cause of death.
Gephardt Daily will update this story as more information becomes available.
