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Firefighters Respond To 'Downed Paddleboarder' At Big Soda Lake

LAKEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4) - West Metro firefighters rushed to Big Soda Lake at Bear Creek Lake park in Lakewood on Saturday afternoon for a report of a drowning. Fire officials tell CBS4 crews are looking for a downed paddleboarder.

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(credit: CBS)

Crews responded to the lake around 3:00 p.m. after the missing person's friends called 911. At around 5:15 p.m., the mission turned to a recovery operation.

A spokesperson for West Metro Fire Rescue said the paddleboarder is a male in his 20s. It is unknown if he was wearing a life jacket at the time.

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Divers with West Metro Fire Rescue and South Metro Fire Rescue searched the lake until just before 7:00 p.m. Saturday. Their focus was on the west side of the lake, where fire officials say the water is nearly 40 feet deep and visibility is low.

After pulling divers out, West Metro turned the search over to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. CPW crews will continue the search through the night using a sonar-equipped boat.

 

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"We've had two different types of drones, we've got the underwater drone, we've had human divers, so it's almost, that I'm aware of, every resource that you could have available to try to locate someone," said Ct. Sean Ohara with WMFR.

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