Vehicle, body of missing Fayette County man recovered from West Virginia lake
CHEAT LAKE, W.Va. (KDKA) -- Emergency responders say they have recovered a car from a West Virginia lake with a missing Fayette County man inside.
According to CBS affiliate WDTV, several rescue teams worked Sunday morning to pull a car from Cheat Lake that officials said belonged to Kevin Lataille, a Smithfield, Pennsylvania, man who went missing last week.
According to family friends, Lateille called his wife on the way home to let her know the roads were bad and that he would take Interstate 68 instead of his usual route to Smithfield but never returned home.
Lateille was reported missing and an intensive search on the ground and in the air ensued until it was suspected his car may have gone over the side of the I-68 bridge and into Cheat Lake when car parts were located on the bridge.
Around 12:30 Sunday afternoon, crews pulled an SUV from the lake near the bridge that matched the description of Lataille and his vehicle.
Murrysville Medic One administrative director Darrick Gerano confirmed the victim was Kevin Lataille.
"Through the police investigation, and hats off to them for the work they did, they were able to determine some car parts that [were] located off the Interstate 68 bridge," Gerano said.
Gerano said they obtained video that showed a vehicle going off the bridge. Recovery 600 feet from the shoreline would be complicated.
"One, looking at the ice from the surface, the discoloration of it, the cloudiness of it, it wasn't sturdy ice, from what we believe," Gerano said.
A towing company dropped two cables off the side of the bridge.
"We couldn't have done any of this without the dive teams that came down," said Monongalia County Sheriff Todd Forbes.
"The diver just had to go down, confirm the vehicle, confirm whether it was occupied or not, and then rig it for hoisting," Gerano added.
Officials have not shared why they believe the car went off the road.
"That stuff is all under investigation. I think it's a little preliminary to let any of that information out at this point," Forbes said on Sunday.
If you have information, pictures, or video of the I-68 eastbound Cheat Lake area from Sunday, Jan. 19 around noon, you're urged to call the Monongalia County Sheriff's Office.
