RICH COUNTY, Utah — The Rich County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating what happened after a scuba-certified man died in Bear Lake over the weekend.
His friends are advising other adventures to be careful over Memorial Day weekend.
“He was a fine young man and an upstanding person. He’s going to be missed,” said George Winters.
31-year-old Kyle Dean Walker of Logan was scuba diving in Bear Lake over the weekend when his family became concerned they hadn't heard from him for two days.
A search was organized with a boat equipped with sonar, which soon found the man's body under five feet of water. A dive team was called in to help with the recovery.
“He mentioned something about a rebreather he had purchased. I believe that’s what he was going to try and dive with in Bear Lake,” said Winters.
Winters said he has known Walker for five years through their involvement in a Masonic lodge.
“I watched him grow in freemasonry and also with the National Sojourners,” he said.
On Thursday, Walker was elected president of the William A. Powell Sr. Chapter No. 556.
“With whatever he was involved in, he was very excited about it,” said Winters. “And became very involved with it.”
Winters and Walker drove together to the meeting from Logan to Ogden just days before his death.
“One of the things we talked about during that drive was the fact that he was going to go scuba diving at Bear Lake,” he said.
For anyone planning their own adventures over Memorial Day weekend, Winters advises you to be careful.
“Anybody that’s going to go mountain climbing, hiking, spelunking, take somebody with you. Let everybody know where you’re going to be,” he said.
Walker was also a staff sergeant with the Utah Army National Guard.
In his obituary,his family wrote that he “packed a lifetime of experiences, hobbies, and adventures in 31 short years. He lived life to the fullest.”
