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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