Bodies of father, daughter’s friend recovered from lake days after boat drifted away while swimming

ELLSWORTH COUNTY, Kan. (KWCH/Gray News) - The bodies of two people lost in a boating incident in Kansas last week were recovered, according to authorities.

The Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Office said the two bodies were recovered from Kanopolis Lake on Saturday.

Ellsworth County Sheriff Kenny Bernard said three people were swimming at Kimble Point when the current carried their boat away.

The people swimming were not wearing life jackets and could not make it back to the boat.

Bernard said Reagen Dalke was one of the three swimmers, but was the only person spotted. She was pulled out of the water by boaters who had come across the empty boat hours before. She was later airlifted to a Wichita hospital in serious condition.

The other two people whose bodies were recovered Saturday included Reagen’s father and her best friend.

The 44-year-old man was found near the area where the group first went missing. The 14-year-old was found by a boater by the face of the dam.

The families of the victims have identified their bodies, officials said.

“Our heartfelt condolences go out to all of the victims, their family and friends,” the Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post. “From all of us at the Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Office, please hold your family just a little tighter this holiday.”

Multiple agencies, dive teams and volunteers assisted in searching for them in the water.

A GoFundMe has been set up to aid the families impacted.