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Two ‘Intoxicated’ Guys Take an Echo Park Paddle-Boat For a Late-Night Ride; Boat Capsizes, 1 Dead [Updated]

12:20 PM PDT on July 26, 2018

[dropcap size=big]R[/dropcap]escuers pulled the body late Thursday afternoon of a man who disappeared in the water at Echo Park Lake after a paddle-boat capsized in the middle of the night.

Two men fell into the lake just before 4 am Thursday, when the swan-shaped boat they commandeered capsized, officials said. One swam to shore, the other man is believed to have drowned in the lake.

A team of divers from the Los Angeles Fire Department and the LAPD began searching in the early hours Thursday after a witness saw the boat capsize and called 911 at 3:45 am. The body was found after 11 hours, according to police officials. 

LAFD Capt. Erik Scott told KTLA at the scene that they had hoped the missing man swam to shore and took off. KTLA also reported that the chain on the swan boat was busted open, and that the men “may have been intoxicated.”

Police and fire officials told L.A. Taco they were investigating the circumstances of the incident. According to LAPD officer Ray Brown, there could “possibly be a trespassing charge,” but that the main concern was locating the missing person.

[UPDATED 3:40 pm] 

RELATED: Thrift Chain ‘Out of the Closet’ Is Closing Its Echo Park Store For Good

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