GREENFIELD TOWNSHIP -- Dive teams have recovered the body of teen presumed to have drowned after falling from a boat Tuesday in Lackawanna County, according to the county coroner.
The coroner said the body of Leah Loomis, 17, of the Carbondale area, was recovered by divers at 12:10 p.m.
As many as 25 divers searched Newton Lake for hours over the past two days knowing that they would eventually have to deliver tragic news.
Just after noon Wednesday, dive teams discovered the teen's body.
Right after the sun came up on day two of their search, members of seven dive teams from as far away as Schuylkill County were back out on Newton Lake outside Carbondale. They scoured the bottom searching for news none of them wanted to deliver.
Clifford Township and Greenfield Township led the search efforts. Officials say sonar technology helped them, but it was an underwater camera belonging to one of the dive teams that ultimately led them to the body.
"We had several different locations being reported to us by folks who were on the shore," said Clifford Township Assistant Chief Dan O'Rourke. "The most difficult part of the recovery was taking every one of those reports and eliminating them."
Friends and family of Leah Loomis waited by the shore for two days until her body was discovered.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission will now investigate how she fell from a boat into the water.
Natalie Fedorovsky from Philadelphia is vacationing on Newton Lake this week and watched in tears as the dive teams searched.
"At least we were praying so we could find her, so at least they can say goodbye to their daughter. It's so sad. I'm sorry," Fedorovsky said.
Federovsky has a 16-year-old daughter leading her to imagine the unimaginable.
"Well, I guess we don't know when it's going to happen and how it's going to happen. It's not up to us. It's up to Him."
Friends of Leah Loomis plan to meet for a candlelight vigil Thursday night at Newton Lake to remember her and help the family heal.
Loomis was a senior at Lakeland High School. Administrators from the Lakeland School District sent out a tweet saying grief counselors are available to students.