DIAMOND LAKE, Ore. — The body of a volunteer firefighter, who had been missing since jumping into a lake Saturday, was recovered Wednesday.
The Register-Guard reported that volunteer firefighter Rodney Shay, 51, with the Pleasant Hill (Ore.) Fire District, jumped off the back of a boat while on Diamond Lake with his wife. His wife called 911 and threw her husband a life jacket, but he never resurfaced.
His body was found submerged in the water, deputies said. The apparent drowning remains under investigation.
Deputies had scoured the lake ever since the incident on Saturday.
Pleasant Hill Assistant Fire Chief Chooch Vanis said firefighter Shay had come to the fire department two years ago, realizing a dream that his father had for him, according to the report.
“His dad wanted him to be a firefighter when he was in college and for various reasons, that didn’t happen,” Chief Vanis said. “So he was following up on a promise he made to his dad and became a firefighter late in life.”
Vanis said Shay was a positive addition to the department and fit in quickly with his fellow firefighters. He described Shay as “a great guy with a super-great personality,” according to the report.
He said the department’s members are trying their best to cope.
“Pleasant Hill Fire is mourning the loss of one of our own,” the Pleasant Hill Volunteer Firefighters Association posted on Facebook. “Please keep his family and our volunteers in your thoughts and prayers.”