Body Of Arkansas Judge Who Vanished During Vacation Found In Lake

An Arkansas judge who mysteriously disappeared while vacationing with family and friends over the weekend was found at the bottom of a lake Sunday, authorities have said.

The 48-year-old Arkansas County Northern District judge, Jeremiah Bueker, was on a "recreational travel" with his loved ones, a news release from the Jefferson County County Sheriff's Office said.

He ventured off at a certain point during the vacation and was never seen alive again, CNN reported.

Bueker's family dialed 911 when they couldn't find him and it was already well after sunset.

"After time had passed and no one had seen or heard from Bueker, worry began to set in. A search for Bueker by family and friends began," the news release noted.

Deputies searched Mud Lake on foot and by boat with assistance from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Kansas City Star reported.

A thorough land and water search that lasted all through the night and early next morning was conducted. The search was paused due to low visibility and then resumed at dawn.

A body was then discovered and retrieved from the bottom of the lake just after 9 a.m. Sunday, after boats with sonar scanned the water, according to the outlet.

The family reportedly helped authorities confirm the body was Bueker's. The State Medical Examiner is conducting an autopsy to eliminate any ignored observations.

The body had no indications of foul play, April Davis, the Jefferson County deputy coroner who arrived on the site, said, as per CNN. She added that the body was intact and presented no signs of trauma.

The case is currently being investigated as accidental drowning.

Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr. expressed his sincere hope that the discovery of Bueker's body by deputies and wildlife officers will provide some measure of comfort to the judge's family and those who knew him best, the outlet reported.

In a similar incident, the bodies of a mother and her three children were found in a lake in Minnesota in July. It was later found to be a case of murder-suicide. Authorities believe the mother, identified as 23-year-old Molly Cheng, decided to drown her children — aged 3, 4 and 5 — and take her own life after the suicide of her husband inside their residence.