Camper found dead in lake a day after vanishing from LGBTQ event, Arizona cops say
_fitted.png "Richard, Myers, 46, was found dead May 19 in Bartlett Lake, deputies in Arizona said. He had disappeared during a camping trip.")
A 46-year-old’s body was found in an Arizona lake a day after he was last seen at an LGBTQ camping event, deputies said.
Richard Myers, who went by “Richie Josef,” was reported missing at 6:26 p.m. May 18 from Bartlett Lake, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release obtained by McClatchy News.
Myers was at the lake for the Bartlett Bash, an LGBTQ campout that’s held every year in May and September. The group started the event 19 years ago and was camping along the flats.
That day, he was “partying” from campsite to campsite, deputies said.
He was last seen walking in the water near a “rock finger which protrudes out from the shore into the open water,” deputies said.
Then he vanished.
Rescuers said they searched the water the evening he was reported missing, but couldn’t find him.
Deputies used a sonar to search the water the next day and found his body, which was taken to the medical examiner’s office.
Meyers was found with scratches on his ears and “redness on his left eye,” deputies said.
He may have tried to walk along the rocks and fallen, hitting his head before going into the water, authorities said.
The investigation is ongoing, but authorities said they do not suspect foul play. Alcohol may have been a factor, deputies said.
“Thank you all for loving him the way you did and seeing his heart and soul for who he was,” his niece Marissa Eick said on Facebook.
“Rest in Paradise my Richie Josef I’m so sorrry babes. Until we meet again be our Angels. His family and his friends will need of our community to assist and help with services,” Rudy Mariscal wrote.
Bartlett Lake is about a 55-mile drive northeast from downtown Phoenix.
This story was originally published May 20, 2024 at 2:57 PM with the headline "Camper found dead in lake a day after vanishing from LGBTQ event, Arizona cops say."
