JEFFERSON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — The body of 48-year-old Jeremiah T. Bueker, an Arkansas County Northern District Court judge was recovered from a lake on Sunday morning.
According to reports, Bueker and family and friends spent their weekend in Jefferson County.
At one point Bueker ventured off for a while and later the family began to worry. He had been last seen near Mud Lake and since the family could not locate him, and it began to get dark, they contacted the police.
Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputies arrived and began an extensive search on the ground and in the water alongside the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Marine Patrol and wildlife officers with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission.
Shortly after 9:00 a.m., they detected a body at the bottom of the lake. Once they were able to recover the body, the family assisted the deputies and investigators in the positive identification of Bueker's body.
Bueker was pronounced dead by the Jefferson County Coroner's Office, and his death is being investigated as an accidental drowning. The body will be sent to the state medical examiner for an autopsy.
The investigation into this incident remains ongoing and we will update with information as soon as it becomes available.