Morbid Fact Du Jour For August 9, 2011

Today’s Motionless Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

Authorities at Lake Tahoe on Monday solved the mystery of a scuba diver who disappeared 17 years ago in the mountain lake’s deep, frigid waters. The well-preserved body of Donald Christopher Windecker was discovered July 23 on an underwater shelf, 265 feet below the surface. A remote-controlled mini-submarine with a robotic claw raised the remains July 27. The recovery occurred on the lake’s west side, near Rubicon Point. Officials delayed releasing Windecker’s name until dental records confirmed his identity. Four more divers remain missing in the same area, which is infamous for swallowing up victims. Windecker’s body was clad in a wetsuit and buckled into a weight belt and air tank. The scuba gear bore a certification from 1994, officials with the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department said. Just beyond the ledge where Windecker’s body was found, the lake plunges to a depth of 1,645 feet. News reports at the time of Windecker’s disappearance described him as a 44-year-old former city planner from Reno who set out for a dive on July 10, 1994. Accompanied by a friend, Windecker planned to swim to a depth of about 100 feet. But trouble occurred toward the end of the dive as the pair began to ascend. Windecker reportedly experienced difficulty with his equipment and began to sink. His companion tried to help but began running out of air and was forced to surface. “His remains are in amazing physical condition,” said Sheriff’s Sgt. Jim Byers. “We’ll be able to do a thorough autopsy. He may have had a heart attack or a stroke or maybe just ran out of air. Hopefully we’ll determine what happened.” Windecker’s body was discovered by a group of “mixed gas” divers exploring cliff walls. Mixed gas divers can safely descend to about 350 feet without suffering nitrogen narcosis, or “rapture of the depths,” among other problems. Conventional scuba divers have to stop at about 100 feet. Byers said those in the diving group were startled to see Windecker’s motionless form. “It was pretty scary for them. They were wondering, ‘What’s this person doing down here?'” he said. He did not identify members of the group. The surprising condition of the body is attributable to the 35-degree water and the increased pressure at the 265-foot depth. He dismissed speculation that Windecker had gone undiscovered for so long because his body had been caught in underwater tunnels that legend says connects Lake Tahoe with Pyramid Lake northeast of Reno. Some Tahoe locals insist that bodies of boaters and swimmers who drowned in Lake Tahoe have turned up Pyramid Lake and vice versa. They insist the tunnels are the result of volcanic activity. “Lava tube connections between Lake Tahoe and other lakes are an urban myth,” Byers said.

Culled from: LA Times
Generously submitted by: Mike

Too bad the body was only from 1994. Wouldn’t it be cooler if it was from 1944 or something? I always think how weird it would be to see the frozen well-preserved remains of someone who died decades (or centuries) before. Unfortunately, with all the ice melting in this world, that’s something that we’re quickly losing any possibility of seeing…