Arkansas judge found dead in lake after he went missing on a family trip – CNN

Jeremiah Bueker, 48, was last seen near Mud Lake, where his body was later found. A search was conducted by family and friends late into the night and early morning, but had to be paused due to low visibility.

Bueker went missing after leaving a group of family and friends to explore on his own. A team of deputies was dispatched and conducted an extensive ground and water search for Bueker.

Police surveyed Mud Lake on boats using side-scan sonar technology and discovered Bueker’s body. Authorities recovered Judge Bueker’s body from the lake on Sunday morning.

His death is currently being investigated as an accidental drowning, and an autopsy will be performed by the State Medical Examiner. April Davis, the deputy coroner for Jefferson County, said the body showed no signs of foul play and an autopsy is expected this week.

Bueker, a district judge in Stuttgart, Arkansas, was last seen alive late Saturday. Jefferson County Sheriff Lafayette Woods said he hoped the recovery of Judge Bueker’s body would bring some sense of closure to the Bueker family.

Buicker, who was elected as a District Judge in 2012, is remembered as someone who loved swimming. He was spending his weekend at a cabin on the family property when the drowning occured.

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