GRDA: Man Who Drowned At Grand Lake Identified

Authorities have released the name of the man who drowned at Grand Lake on Friday.

GRDA says he was 22-year-old Joshua Gooding.

Divers recovered Gooding's body, but there are still questions about what happened.  Investigators say Gooding fell in while working on a dock in the Honey Creek arm of the lake.

Multiple agencies responded to the Buffalo Shores neighborhood, just outside of Grove, after a dock construction worker disappeared below the lake surface.

Justin Alberty with the Grand River Dam Authority said, "Had been working on a dock in the Honey Creek arm of the lake at a private residence."

Alberty said crews were called to 1649 Pine Drive around 2:30 p.m.

Officials said a majority of the workers that were working on the dock were on the right side of it, by the barges; however, the divers located the man off of the left side of the dock.

"We didn't actually have any witnesses that saw him go in the water," Alberty said. "They did realize, at some point, he was missing - saw his hat floating on the water."

Alberty said that’s when workers called for help.  Emergency crews used sonar to search, initially, but were forced to put in a dive team, who located Gooding's body.

"They did make a recovery very near the dock in about 10 to 12 feet of water," Alberty said.

This is the eighth drowning on the Illinois River, Lake Hudson and Grand Lake that GRDA has responded to this year.

"We certainly do stress, wear your life jacket while you're on the water,” Alberty said.