BODY RECOVERED BY S.O. DIVER AFTER VEHICLE LEAVES THE ROADWAY AND GOES INTO LAKE NORFORK

     A Baxter County Sheriff’s Office Diver has recovered a body from a vehicle that ran off the causeway inside the Pigeon Creek park and became submerged under the water.
     The Sheriff’s Office was notified of a 9-1-1 call at approximately 12:43 PM today, June 27th, that a lady had called 9-1-1 reporting that her son phoned her saying that his car had gone off into the lake.  He was inside the car and he needed help.  The general location was reported to be in the Pigeon Creek area of Norfork Lake on Hwy 201 North, but a more precise location was not known.
     Sheriff’s Deputies and other emergency responders were dispatched and began searching for the vehicle, said to be a silver Toyota passenger car.  No such vehicle could be seen from the roadway, and responders then began searching other access points on Lake Norfork as well, as the driver was said to reside near a different access point on the lake.  The Sheriff’s Office also deployed a patrol boat to the area, as did Park Rangers with the U. S. Army Corp of Engineers.  Numerous bridges and access points on Norfork Lake were searched, as well as continuing the search in the Pigeon Creek area.  The Sheriff’s Office helicopter was later launched as well.
     At approximately 1:55 PM, a Park Ranger reported finding vehicle parts or debris on or near the causeway inside Pigeon Creek park that could belong to a vehicle matching the description given.  Responders in a boat arrived shortly thereafter and confirmed a vehicle in the water, approximately ten feet under, at that location.
     A Sheriff’s Office diver then arrived and made a dive on the vehicle.  The diver recovered the body of a male and brought him up.  The male was deceased at the scene, and the Baxter County Coroner’s Office was notified.
    The victim was identified as 31 year old Darren M. Martin of Gamaliel, Arkansas.
     Thirteen Sheriff’s Deputies and USACE Park Rangers, as well as several volunteer firefighters and rescue personnel, responded to the 9-1-1 call and participated in the search for the vehicle and the subsequent recovery.  The Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division will be preparing the report.