Vermont State Police recover body of fisherman from Lake Champlain
Elizabeth MurrayVermont State Police divers recovered the body of a missing fisherman from Lake Champlain on Tuesday evening.
Around 2 p.m., the police received a report that the man, reportedly in his late 60s, had gone missing somewhere between North Hero and Alburgh. His aluminum fishing boat had been found near the railroad trestle connecting the two towns, with only the man's belongings on board.
The man's body was recovered around 8:09 p.m. about 40 yards from shore, police said. He was brought to the Chief Medical Examiner's Office in Burlington for an autopsy to confirm cause and manner of death.
On Wednesday morning, state police identified the fisherman as Michael Dattilio, 68, of Essex. Police had previously described him as a "local resident familiar with the area."
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Detectives with the Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations are conducting a death investigation, which the agency said is standard protocol. According to a news release Tuesday night, police said the death did not appear to be suspicious.
Other agencies involved in the search effort included the Grand Isle County Sheriff's Department, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Alburgh, Grand Isle and North Hero fire departments and the Clinton County, New York, Sheriff's Department. U.S. Customs and Border Protection also provided a helicopter to help with the search.
Contact Elizabeth Murray at 802-651-4835 or emurray@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizMurrayBFP.