Body identified as that of Sagle resident

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SANDPOINT — The body found submerged in Lake Pend Oreille at City Beach has been identified as that of a Sagle resident.

Bonner County Sheriff's Office officials identified the individual as Gary Bonser, 40, of Sagle.

"It looks to me like a drowning," Bonner County Coroner Rob Beers said. "When we get those toxicology results back, it'll definitely help us to determine other contributing circumstances if there were any."

The body was discovered late Tuesday morning by a juvenile fishing off the Statue of Liberty pier after his line became hooked on something submerged in the water, said Capt. Tim Hemphill, BCSO public information officer. The age and identify of the juvenile are not being released.

As soon as the youth realized it was a person, he notified authorities. Sandpoint Police responded to City Beach at 11:36 a.m. after the report a deceased adult male found in the water about 15 feet off the end of the Statue of Liberty pier.

Bonser was fully clothed when his body was discovered and there were no signs of any obvious trauma, Beers said.

Hemphill said Bonser was last seen by family members in the First Avenue area on Friday. Detectives are currently checking for security footage from nearby businesses and talking to anyone who might have seen the man during the interim period.

While the cause and circumstances of his death are currently under investigation, Beers said it is likely that Bonser was in the water for more than 12 hours and less than 24 and that the Sagle man drowned.

Beers said in talking with BCSO Dive Team members, who said based on where Bonser's body was found and the amount of time he had been in the water, as well as the current pattern at City Beach, it's likely the man went into the water somewhere close to where he was found.

"Because of the short amount of time he was in the water, and there being not really any kind of current, you know, my guess is he went in the water somewhere around the Statue of Liberty is my guess," Beers said.

Sandpoint Police Department, Selkirk Fire, and the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office's Marine Department, Dive Team, and detectives responded after Bonser’s body was discovered. After the BCSO Dive Team searched the area and recovered the body, sheriff’s office detectives assumed the investigation, Hemphill said.

While an autopsy is not being conducted, Beers said toxicology tests are being conducted to see if they can shed any light on the circumstances surrounding the death. Test results are expected to take several weeks to come back, Beers said.

"It's one of those things where we're not exactly sure [what happened,]" he said.