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Sheriff's office identifies possible drowning victim
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff's Office has identified a Kelseyville man who appeared to have drowned while swimming in Clear Lake last week.
Walter Patrick Hoertkorn, 69, died while swimming near a Kelseyville area home on Thursday, June 2, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Brooks said a witness told authorities that Hoertkorn had jumped off a boat dock and was swimming toward a residence, about 50 yards away, when he suddenly appeared to start struggling at about the halfway point and went down.
“He was located by one of the boat deputies with the use of their side scan sonar,” said Brooks. “The spot was marked and then the dive team was brought in for the recovery.”
While it appears that Hoertkorn drowned, the official cause of death is pending autopsy results, Brooks said.
Hoertkorn was a Navy veteran who had worked as a certified public accountant and later for the Kelseyville Post Office, retiring in 2003, according to his obituary.
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Lakeport Police Department provides summer safety tips
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Summer is rapidly approaching and the Lakeport Police Department wants to remind the community of some important safety tips and general information.
Lt. Jason Ferguson said traffic safety will be extremely important this summer as pedestrian and vehicular traffic increase.
The summer concert series and Independence Day celebration at Library Park bring heavy traffic flow through the downtown area, said Ferguson.
He said police ask that drivers take extra care to watch for pedestrians and bicyclists as they travel about Lakeport.
The Lakeport Police Department will do its best to enforce this, and all other traffic laws, but
will also be counting on the public to be mindful of the risks to drivers and pedestrians alike, Ferguson said.
Another seasonal concern relates to pets, which Ferguson said are often innocent victims during the summer months.
The police department reminds the community that leaving your pets in your vehicle is very dangerous and owners should use good judgment when taking your pet for a ride. Vehicles can very easily become ovens even with the windows down.
Always be prepared with water if your animal is traveling with you. For those with pickup trucks, please remember that even though the animal is in the open air, the bed of the truck can become extremely hot. Always have a bed or platform that your animal can lay or sit on to protect their feet from the heat.
Summer is garage sale season and Ferguson said the city of Lakeport has an ordinance prohibiting the posting of any type of handbill or advertising on any public property.
He said the ordinance is designed to keep public areas free from clutter and resulting litter when the signs fall down.
In addition, signs can obstruct the view of motorists, therefore, Ferguson said signs should only be posted on private property and only after obtaining permission from the property owner.
Ferguson said the police department will be monitoring compliance with this ordinance.
The Lakeport Police Department team is always happy to hear from the community, Ferguson said. The agency invites the public to contact it with any questions or concerns.
The department is headquartered at 916 N. Forbes St., telephone 707-263-5491. Visit the agency on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Lakeport-Police-Department-176101292414821/?fref=ts or at http://www.cityoflakeport.com/departments/page.aspx?deptID=76&id=108 , and follow Lakeport Police on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lakeportpolicedepartment/ .
Police: Woman admits she lied about child's kidnapping in park
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department said Wednesday evening that a woman who reported that she had been assaulted and her child had been kidnapped and urinated on at a city park over the weekend has admitted she made up the story.
Sgt. Tim Hobbs said Clearlake Police officers and detectives have spent numerous hours working on the investigation that stemmed from the report of a 2-year-old child being kidnapped and urinated on in Austin Park on Saturday night.
The boy's 23-year-old mother had told authorities that she and her son were near the restrooms on the gazebo side of the park between 8:30 and 8:45 p.m. Saturday.
She said she was approached by a strange man who asked her about the child and wanted to hold him, pushed her to the ground when she refused, and then took the boy into a nearby women's restroom and urinated on him.
She called police at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday from a Lower Lake residence in order to make the report, police said in the initial account.
During the subsequent investigation, Hobbs said no one had come forward as a witness, despite the fact that it had been reported there were numerous people in the area at the time of the incident.
Hobbs said detectives then obtained information that the boy's mother had possibly lied about the incident to police.
On Wednesday, during another interview with the boy's mother, she admitted to Det. Elvis Cook that she had lied about her child being kidnapped in Austin Park, according to Hobbs.
Hobbs said that, once additional followup is completed, the case will be forwarded to the Lake County District Attorney’s Office for review of charges for filing a false police report against the woman.
Sheriff's office releases name of boat accident victim, offers new details of incident
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The name of a man who died in a weekend boating accident on Clear Lake has been released, with authorities releasing new details about the incident and the subsequent investigation.
Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office identified the accident victim as 74-year-old James Michael Leale of San Jose and Clearlake Park.
On Saturday at approximately 2:30 p.m., deputies responded to a reported boat accident in the Kelseyville area between Anderson Island and Vacation Island on Clear Lake, Brooks said.
As deputies arrived to the area of the accident, they noticed debris floating in the water which included boat cushions, life jackets and what appeared to be pieces of a boat, he said.
Brooks said the deputies were contacted by a witness to the accident who said there had been three people in an orange boat, which had disappeared below the surface of the water.
The witness said they had picked up two survivors and currently had them in their boat, and went on to say that the third person did not appear on the surface after the accident. Brooks said the witnesses did not know what caused the boat to break apart and sink.
The deputies contacted both survivors, one of which said he was the owner of the boat and was the one driving when the accident occurred, Brooks said.
Brooks said the boat's owner told the deputies that he was traveling at approximately 55 miles per hour when for some unknown reason the boat sailed up on the starboard side and came back down. As the boat struck the water, it seemed to break apart and disappeared below the surface.
The vessel is described as an Eliminator boat which was built in 1984, Brooks said.
The boat's owner confirmed there were three people on board, including himself. He identified the missing person as Leale, according to Brooks.
Both survivors were transported to separate hospitals for medical treatment, Brooks said.
The boat's owner was taken to Sutter Lakeside, while the second survivor – a 73-year-old man – had been transported by air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, as Lake County News has reported.
On Saturday at approximately 2:47 p.m. deputies requested assistance from the Northshore Dive Team in locating Leale. Brooks said the dive team was forced to scale back the search due to poor visibility and the fact it was getting late and starting to get dark.
At 2 p.m. Sunday the Marin County Dive Team responded to assist with the search. Brooks said they were able to locate the boat, which was submerged in approximately 30 feet of water. However, they also had to scale back their efforts because of the lack of visibility and the darkness.
On Monday the Northshore Dive Team responded to the area of the accident to resume the search. Brooks said that at approximately 10:35 a.m. they located Leale and were able to recover his body from the water.
He said the Northshore Dive Team also was able to lift and recover the boat, which was in two pieces.
The cause of the accident is currently under investigation. Brooks said investigators are examining the possibility of a structural or mechanical failure with the 32-year-old boat.
Alcohol does not appear to have been a factor, Brooks added.
