The body of a missing man was pulled from Cunningham Lake Monday night by the Omaha Fire Department Dive Team.
The body of Benjamin Pike was recovered around 8:30 p.m. after being discovered by two citizens. Pike was reported missing Sunday while on a fishing trip with his 8-year-old son.
Rainy conditions limited crews all day Monday until they formally suspended it in the middle of the afternoon. Fire officials say around 7 p.m. two private citizens, who had been following the story of missing father, contacted the fire department.
They told officials they had a boat with an advanced sonar system and asked permission to search Lake Cunningham.
After receiving permission, the citizens were able to locate the victim in about 10 feet of water. Dive team commanders decided the weather was suitable enough to re-enter the water and removed Pike's body.
The wait had been torture for family members who could only watch and relive the events of Sunday afternoon that they learned from Pike's eight-year-old son. "Collin says his dad jumped into the water and was hanging on the side of the boat," says Pike's mother Angel.
"Collin said there was a big wave and the boat started drifting and his dad's hand disappeared." Angel Pike says her grandson anchored the boat and stood up and waved his arms to get the attention of another boater.
Sunday's tragedy is especially hard on Angel Pike, whose other son Mike died four years ago.