Coroner IDs body found at Lake Mohave as missing teen
A body recovered Wednesday evening at Lake Mohave is the teenage boy who went missing after jumping from a cliff hours before, according to National Park officials.
The Clark County coroner’s office on Thursday identified him as 15-year-old Srirachat Ganpet of Las Vegas.
Ganpet was recovered by Metro’s Search and Rescue Dive Team about 7:30 p.m., Las Vegas police said. Rescuers used sonar and located his body underwater.
He went missing about noon near Placer Cove at the recreation area after he jumped from a 20-foot cliff to help another swimmer, officials said. The water below the cliff is about 65 feet deep.
Witnesses told authorities that the other swimmer resurfaced and made it to safety.
About a dozen teens were heading up a trail at Nelson’s Landing about 11 a.m. Wednesday, Michelle Markowski of Visalia, Calif. told the Review-Journal on Thursday. The teens told her that they were high school juniors — one sophomore — on spring break.
Markowski, 48, said she and some of the teens talked about safety for about half an hour. They were “very respectful,” “mature” and “well-mannered.” They petted her dog and were the only group around Nelson’s Landing.
When she was heading back to her car, first responders were showing up, she said. “I was just praying that it wasn’t those kids,” she said.
She was upset when it was clear Ganpet was part of that group: “Tell the parents I’m so sorry for their loss.”
Contact Ricardo Torres at rtorres@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find him on Twitter: @rickytwrites.
