LEHIGHTON, Pa. — It was a little after 10 in the morning when search and rescue boats pulled into the shore here at Beltzville Lake near Lehighton.
Officials say the body of a 19-year-old swimmer from New Jersey, who went missing the day before, had been recovered by dive teams.
Beltzville State Park manager Ben Monk was working on Sunday when he found out someone had drowned in the lake.
"We had hit capacity for the day. They came up to swim. We had to move them along because we were at capacity for the day, and rather than swimming somewhere where it's not permitted, there are other state parks in the area that have swim beaches available. There are county parks that have swimming beaches available. There are local pools, so seek out those opportunities instead of swimming somewhere where it isn't safe," Monk said.
Search crews say the man and a group of people were swimming in a Cove in state Game lands territory when he went under.
There is no swimming allowed in this area, which is just down the road from the entrance to Beltzville State Park.
Monk says the only place you can swim at the lake is at the beach area, inside the state park.
"The lake is a dangerous lake outside of the swimming area. There's a very sharp cutoff that goes from, you know, ankle-deep water to 40 feet of water in a step. It's just the nature of how the lake is in that's why the swimming areas is put where it is," said Monk.
Beltzville State Park Officials close this gate when the park reaches capacity, and they say the main reason why they do it is for safety.
"We can only carry a certain number of people in here. The beach is only so big. I only have so much safe. We only have so much water to flush the toilets. When we hit the capacity, we have to close those gates for the safety of the public," Monk said.
Officials say the people who were swimming in the off-limits part of the lake were not wearing life jackets.
The Carbon County coroner has not yet released the name of the young man who drowned.