OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The body of a 19-year-old recovered from Lake Hefner Wednesday morning was found about 100 yards away from the location where his car went underwater after he misjudged a turn and drove into the lake.
“Our hearts certainly go out to that family and friends today, we know they’re hurting for sure,” said Battalion Chief Benny Fulkerson of the Oklahoma City Fire Department.
The grueling, near two-day search for Durrell Anderson came to a close Wednesday morning.
“We know it’s not easy any time of year, but here we are at the holidays and it’s got to be extremely painful for them,” Fulkerson said.
Over 24 hours before the accident, just after midnight Tuesday, Anderson and his 16-year-old sister were driving on gravel roads around the lake. Durrell Anderson misjudged a turn and ended up in the lake. His sister was injured but was able to get back to shore. Anderson though, was missing.
Authorities searched the area Tuesday amid rain and winds but were unable to find him.
“They did locate something by sonar image yesterday just before it got dark,” Fulkerson said.
According to Fulkerson, they called off the search due to it getting dark. They went back to the same spot they found that sonar image on Wednesday.
“After a thorough search of that area we did locate the victim,” Fulkerson said. “It looked like it was about maybe a hundred yards from where the car was in the water.”
Originally, they pulled the car out of the water and searched it for Durrell Anderson’s body. Fulkerson said the search became difficult amid the high winds and choppy waters.
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