A Utah man is dead and his friend’s car was recovered from a reservoir after a night of heavy drinking.
According to the Iron County Sheriff’s Office, the body of Andrew Michael Rowe, 53, of Hurricane, was pulled from the Newcastle Reservoir on Saturday morning.
Rowe’s friend — a 63-year-old Hurricane man — told police the two had gone to the area to fish and set up camp next to the reservoir on Friday night when they “started drinking and became very intoxicated.” According to a news release, the friend said he “only remembers waking up in the water” on Saturday morning and “crawling over rocks on his way back to the shore.”
The friend could not locate his 2002 Kia van when he returned to the campsite, and he reported it stolen. On Saturday afternoon, the vehicle was located about 200 feet from the shore in 15 feet of water, police said, and was pulled from the reservoir.
The friend was transported to Cedar City Hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries and released. Rowe’s body was sent to the Utah medical examiner’s office for an autopsy.
The Iron County Sheriff’s Office is “processing evidence in an attempt to determine how [it] ended up in the lake,” according to a news release, and “alcohol is believed to be a factor in this incident.”
