CLEVELAND — The body of a 5-year-old boy was recovered from Lake Erie Sunday afternoon, according to Cleveland Fire Lt. Mike Norman.
On Saturday evening, Mason Thomas was reported to have fallen into the water near the East 55th Street Marina, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
Search efforts began around 8:30 p.m. with multiple agencies responding to the scene.
A shoe belonging to him was found in the water, and witnesses reported hearing a splash in the area where it was found, USCG said.
The area was incredibly active Saturday with drones, choppers, more than 20 emergency vehicles and boats searching the water.
Multiple agencies at the scene deployed divers and side-scan sonar. Cuyahoga County also had a chopper searching.
The marina was shut down as a search between the last dock and the breakwall ensued.
Cleveland Fire said nothing was found Saturday, and the search was suspended for the night.
The search shifted to recovery efforts Sunday morning when the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Cleveland Fire returned to the scene, USCG said.
Around 1:20 p.m., his body was recovered by Cleveland Metroparks divers, Norman said.
Editor's Note: The U.S. Coast Guard originally told News 5 that the child was 6 years old, but the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office has confirmed that the child was 5 years old.
