Body recovered at Scottsdale Ranch lake

A dive crew recovered the body of a man at the Scottsdale Ranch community lake shortly after 1 p.m. today, ending a search for a swimmer residents said went under water on Tuesday but never resurfaced.

A resident living in the master-planned community near 104th Street and Via Linda told police today that a body was floating in the center of the man-made body of water, prompting diving crews to return to the area where they had ended a seven-hour search the night before, according to Scottsdale police officer Dave Pubins.

Meanwhile, Scottsdale police put out a missing persons report for Kevin McDonald, 39, who was believed to have gone swimming in the lake on Tuesday. McDonald was visiting a friend who lives in the community, police said.

Pubins said that a positive identification on the recovered body had not been made, and it now will be up to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the cause of death.

Police crews circled the body in a pontoon boat, taking pictures of it for investigative purposes.

“We want to make sure we don’t destroy any forensic evidence,” Pubins said.

Kevin Schwinkendorf, a resident of the development for about a year, said he was leaving his house when he saw a Scottsdale police cruiser pull up on the sidewalk near the shore of the lake.

“I immediately knew something was up because of the search on Tuesday,” Schwinkendorf said. “I looked out at the lake and right away you could tell. I saw the body. It was pretty gruesome.”

The normally tranquil lake, which police said was up to 30 feet deep in some spots with dark and murky water, was buzzing with search and rescue activity Tuesday.

Phoenix and Tempe police dive crews were leading the underwater search, while Scottsdale police and fire crews searched the area and used boats to search the water’s surface. A sonar device swept the lake Tuesday night to look for clues.

Even residents lent law-enforcement authorities their personal boats to assist in the search.

Swimming in the lake is prohibited.