By SCOTT CARLSON
North Platte Post
NANCE COUNTY, Nebraska-Authorities have identified a Kansas man who drowned in a Nebraska lake over the weekend as 79-year-old Wayne E. Mathias of Augusta, according to the Nance County Sheriff's Department.
Just before 1:30 p.m. Saturday Nance County Sheriffs deputies and Genoa Volunteer Fire and Rescue responded to a reported drowning at a private lake south of Genoa, Nebraska.
Deputies arrived on scene within five minutes of receiving the call and were informed that Mathias had been swimming approximately 100 feet from the shore when witnesses heard him call for help then disappear under the water.
Deputies entered the lake and attempted to locate the Mathias but were not successful. Further efforts to locate him using boats, volunteers and thermal cameras were not successful.
Several other citizens provided boats and floatation devices to assist first responders in the search. Mutual Aid was requested from the Platte County Dive Team and the The Oxford Nebraska Dive Team. The Platte County Dive Team arrived on scene first and used sonar and diver to search the area and were able to locate the victim and recovered his body.