Lawrence man’s body pulled from lake in Geary County

Share this post or save for later

The body of a Lawrence man who had been missing since April 30 was recovered from Milford Lake in Geary County, Kansas, authorities say.

Advertisement

Jesse Paul Sockness, 41, was with a woman at the lake two weeks ago. According to the Geary County Sheriff’s Office, the woman who was with Sockness said they had “located a water vessel made from 55 gallon drums and 2×4 lumber.”

“The couple entered the water in the vessel when they were caught by the wind and were being pulled towards the main body of the lake,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post. “The male subject jumped into the water to swim to the shore to call for help. The subject was last seen in the water as the woman drifted away in the vessel.”

The search continued to no avail until Friday, when Sockness’ body was found floating several hundred yards away from where he was suspected of going into the water, according to the sheriff’s office.

The incident is being investigated as an accidental drowning pending the results of an autopsy, according to the sheriff’s office.

If our local journalism matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters


Click here to learn more about our newsletters first

Latest Lawrence news:

MORE …

Previous Article

Kelly vetoes infectious disease, Medicaid and election bills

Next Article

KU graduation bumped to afternoon