MARICOPA COUNTY, AZ — A body found on Wednesday is believed to be that of Richard Powers, who went missing while paddleboarding at Saguaro Lake on Sunday, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.
Powers was last seen around 5:45 Sunday morning as he went out paddleboarding on the lake.
His paddleboard and personal belongings were found days before his body was located Wednesday, according to MCSO.
The sheriff's office says the body was located in the vicinity of what is though to be Powers' regular route on the lake.
Richard Powers’ friends tell ABC15 he’s an avid paddleboarder who would go out several times a week and paddle for miles at Saguaro Lake. Paddling on Sundays was part of his routine, his friends say, and then he’d show up at his friend’s shop, No Snow Standup Paddle Board to help out just for fun.
“When he didn’t show up yesterday at 7, we started to think maybe he went longer, maybe he ran into some friends, they hung out a little longer where we’re sitting today,” said Court Fetter, the owner of No Snow and Powers’ friend. “As the time ticked, it got a little more worrisome."
His friends had reported him missing to MCSO on Sunday morning, and the tight-knit group he’s in, his friends started coming out, paddling along the route he typically did, hoping to find him.
“You can tell everybody misses him. He didn’t have a family directly here, he definitely has a family with all of us,” Mike La said, another friend of Powers’.
Fetter said they never worried about Powers, knowing how good he was. They said he typically wears a life jacket belt around his waist, one that would require being pulled to activate. MCSO said they did not find that with his personal belongings.
"If anyone’s intending in putting a paddle in the next day or two, by all means, make Saguaro your destination,” Fetter said. “I'm sure someone will find him but just it’s tough. I've never had anybody lost. And in essence he’s lost right now. Reality leads us down to a dark path."
Powers’ friends say he was last seen wearing a bright yellow shirt that said ’No Snow’ on it.
