KENOZA LAKE – The body of 62-year-old Terry Davis, Sr., of Jeffersonville was recovered from Kenoza Like shortly before noon on Thursday.
Davis had gone fishing around 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday and efforts to contact him by cellphone hours later were fruitless.
A family member found his pickup truck by a boat launch around 3 p.m. There was no sign of his 10-foot Coleman fishing boat. Sullivan County Sheriff’s deputies, State Police and Kenoza Lake firefighters initially searched the shoreline and began a search of the lane, which was called off at dusk.
The victim’s tackle box was recovered floating in the water near the shore.
The search resumed at 6 a.m. Thursday with additional divers from Ulster and Greene County Sheriff’s Offices as well as K-9 teams from Ramapo Search and Rescue.
At about 10:20 a.m., Davis’ body was located some 20 yards off the southern shoreline by a State Police marine unit using sonar. The body and the submerged boat were submerged in approximately 12 feet of water.
Sheriff Mike Schiff was on the scene both days and thanked all of the first responders for their dedication and professionalism. “Now we must say a prayer for the family,” he said.
In addition to the Sullivan County Fire Coordinator’s Office, the following agencies responded to the scene: Jeffersonville, White Lake, Youngsville, Rock Hill, Narrowsburg and Highland Lake Fire departments as well as DEC forest rangers and Jeffersonville Ambulance Corps, the sheriff’s Office, State Police, and Rock Hill Fire Department provided drone surveillance during the search.
