Search for missing Mercer Island boater stops, presumed drowned

LAKE WASHINGTON, Wash. — The search for a missing Mercer Island man, after his boat was found grounded in Kirkland Friday evening, has been stopped, and the man is presumed to have gone overboard and drowned, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident started around 7 p.m. when a resident in the 300 block of Lake Avenue West in Kirkland called police about a boat that had drifted into the shoreline.

Deputies with the King County marine unit arrived at the location and found the boat unoccupied.

When deputies arrived at the scene, they inspected the boat and found a portable generator active on board and a tool that was connected to the generator dangling into the water, according to Cindi West of the King County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies looked up the boat registration and attempted to contact the owner, Richard Sweezey, at his home in Mercer Island, but no one was home.

During an investigation, police found paperwork in the boat which indicated that the boat is usually moored at a slip at the Queen City Yacht Club in Portage Bay.

According to West, deputies went to the marina and found Sweezey's vehicle parked in the parking lot, but did not find him.

The sheriff’s office began a search on Lake Washington to see if Sweezey fell into the water. The King County Sheriff's Office Guardian 1 helicopter, the U.S. Coast Guard and Seattle Police Marine Patrol assisted in the search.

Early Saturday morning deputies contacted a friend of Sweezey's at the Queen City Yacht Club.

The friend of Sweezey said he talked to him at the marina Friday around 1 p.m.

The friend told authorities that Sweezey had intended to take his boat into the Lake Washington area to do some repairs. The friend also said Sweezey did not have life jackets, so he gave him one to use for the day.

Deputies said the life jacket was still on the boat when they found it.

Crews will resume a recovery search when sonar is available.

KIRO