WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and SportsBody of missing Sawyer Co. man found

Body of missing Sawyer Co. man found

Sawyer Co. (WQOW) -- The search for a missing man in Sawyer County has come to an end.  Authorities say they located the body of Paul Dust Tuesday night.  He was found in Lake Lac Courte Oreilles in Hayward. 

Dust disappeared in April after spearfishing with two teens.  Authorities say heavy waves caused their boat to flip, and the teens made it to shore safely.  Investigators had not been able to find Dust until Tuesday night.  He was from Lac Courte Oreilles.  He was 43.

Here's the press release from the Sawyer County Sheriff's Department:

OCT. 28

NEWS RELEASE

At approximately 5:00 p.m. on Oct. 27, 2009, the Sawyer County Sheriff's Department was advised of a body being located in Lake Lac Courte Oreilles, Hayward, Wisconsin.

The Sawyer County Sheriff's Department, LCO Police Department, and the LCO conservation wardens responded to the scene and removed the body.

The LCO Police Department identified the body as that of Paul E. Dust, 43 years of age, of Lac Courte Oreilles.  Dust went missing on April 18, 2009 after the boat he and two companions were in capsized during spearfishing.  His companions were able to swim to shore.  The lake is approximately 80 feet deep at the site where Dust went missing. 

The body was identified through tattoos and clothing Dust was wearing at the time he disappeared.