{"id":163593,"date":"2025-08-21T10:55:38","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T10:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/163593\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T10:55:38","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T10:55:38","slug":"paddleboarder-goes-missing-at-saguaro-lake-mcso-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/163593\/","title":{"rendered":"Paddleboarder goes missing at Saguaro Lake, MCSO says"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/12779086CF127938C2A7887E07AC5E97-0-1755476309709.png\" alt=\"(Previous Report) Missing man's paddleboard, belongings found at Saguaro Lake\" class=\"sr-only\" data-v-fa1f2118=\"\"\/>   <\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\"><strong>UPDATE: On Aug. 20, officials with the Maricopa County Sheriff&#8217;s Office announced that crews have <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox10phoenix.com\/news\/body-missing-paddleboarder-recovered-from-saguaro-lake\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><strong>recovered a body at Saguaro Lake<\/strong><\/a><strong>, and they believe the body is that of Richard Powers. Original story below.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\"><strong>MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. &#8211;<\/strong> A paddleboarder went missing in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/place\/saguaro+lake\/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x872bbee05f074f1b:0x4c3c18a4b2ec3b22?sa=X&amp;ved=1t:155783&amp;ictx=111\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><strong>Saguaro Lake<\/strong><\/a> early Sunday morning, the Maricopa County Sheriff&#8217;s Office said.<\/p>\n<p original-article-post=\"\" data-v-ec26887a=\"\" data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">What we know:<\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">Richard Powers, 65, was last seen on Aug. 17 at around 5:45 a.m. near boat ramp 1.<\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">&#8220;Richard Powers was last seen paddleboarding at Saguaro Lake near boar ramp 1, located in the Tonto National Forest. Richard&#8217;s paddleboard and personal belongings were located on the southside of Saguaro Lake near Captain&#8217;s Nook,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MCSOaz\/posts\/pfbid0WvRDQ52ayvd4dJBYzaEP8r7dMTjfWZTrNqu9EBo9XYEfCj29DP2cfULd3f5sDbWCl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><strong>MCSO said on Facebook<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">He was last seen wearing a lime green hooded sweatshirt, black shorts and flip-flops.<\/p>\n<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/richard-powers.png\" alt=\"\" data-v-0dea8073=\"\"\/> <\/p>\n<p data-v-0dea8073=\"\">65-year-old Richard Powers <\/p>\n<p original-article-post=\"\" data-v-ec26887a=\"\" data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">What they&#8217;re saying:<\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">Powers&#8217; friends, who call him Rick, said he is an incredibly athletic and fit retired man who is on the lake often. He was out training early Sunday and when he didn&#8217;t return by his usual 7 a.m. time, friends became worried.<\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">They believe he may have had a medical episode.<\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">A friend of his, Court Fetter, described Powers as a &#8220;prince of puns&#8221; and a beloved member of the local paddleboarding community.<\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">&#8220;Anybody that&#8217;s entered our doors knew Rick, especially on the weekends,&#8221; Fetter said. &#8220;He liked being in the mix, liked staying busy. He hated sitting down. He&#8217;s like, &#8216;I&#8217;m going to go do something.&#8217; Like, he had to keep moving.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/899646CF5504FBEF1C9206B553B83B63.jpg\" alt=\"Friends of missing paddleboarder fear the worst\" class=\"sr-only\" data-v-fa1f2118=\"\"\/>   <\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">A boater said she would have searched for him if she had known what had happened.<\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">&#8220;I wish I would\u2019ve known that there was somebody missing because we could\u2019ve been looking for somebody. I had no idea. But I really hope that they find him. That\u2019s terrible,&#8221; said boater Allegra Bueche.<\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">Meanwhile, his friends want to keep his love for the sport alive.<\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">&#8220;He was just trying to spread the sport, the love of it. And the community that goes with it,&#8221; Fetter said. &#8220;He&#8217;ll be greatly missed. And if anyone comes into the shop, make sure you mention him because it means a lot to us.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> MCSO continues search for Powers  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/8D335E0973991BC27129B5995CF8AB19.jpg\" alt=\"Search continues for missing Saguaro Lake paddleboarder\" class=\"sr-only\" data-v-fa1f2118=\"\"\/>  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox10phoenix.com\/video\/1693382\" data-v-fa1f2118=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Search continues for missing Saguaro Lake paddleboarder<\/a> <\/p>\n<p data-v-fa1f2118=\"\">The Maricopa County Sheriff&#8217;s Office is continuing its search for 65-year-old Richard Powers, who was last seen early on the morning of Aug. 17 at Saguaro Lake. His body has not been found, and FOX 10&#8217;s Steve Nielsen has more on the search efforts.<\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">The Maricopa County Sheriff&#8217;s Office is searching Saguaro Lake for the missing man, focusing on several areas after his cell phone was found on his paddleboard.<\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">An MCSO boat is searching the lake around the clock, and a team of three is using a sonar device to find anything that looks out of place.<\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">&#8220;It will look at the bottom of the lake and then things above for anomalies,&#8221; MCSO&#8217;s William Jinks said. &#8220;Our aviation unit was out doing a grid search of the whole area.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">A cell phone found on Powers&#8217; paddleboard shows the path the board took, but search teams do not know when Powers left the board.<\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">&#8220;Unfortunately, this lake is 10 miles long and 1,200 acres with depths of 90 feet,&#8221; Jinks said.<\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">MCSO says Powers was known to wear a life jacket, but it was a waist-type that requires a person to pull it to inflate. The search for the man will continue in the coming days until he is found.<\/p>\n<p original-article-post=\"\" data-v-ec26887a=\"\" data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">What you can do:<\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\">If you have information about this, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcso.org\/resources\/send-us-a-tip\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><strong>click here<\/strong><\/a> to contact the sheriff&#8217;s office.<\/p>\n<p data-v-7f0a623e=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/place\/saguaro+lake\/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x872bbee05f074f1b:0x4c3c18a4b2ec3b22?sa=X&amp;ved=1t:155783&amp;ictx=111\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><strong>Map of where Saguaro Lake is<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>      <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox10phoenix.com\/tag\/us\/az\/maricopa-county\" class=\"tags-tag\" data-v-7f0a623e=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Maricopa County<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox10phoenix.com\/tag\/news\" class=\"tags-tag\" data-v-7f0a623e=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">News<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UPDATE: On Aug. 20, officials with the Maricopa County Sheriff&#8217;s Office announced that crews have recovered a body&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":163594,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,1587,1588,50,1589,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-163593","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-az","11":"tag-maricopa-county","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-phoenix","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-united-states-of-america","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115066394453883967","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}