Missing boater's body found

PUT-IN-BAY — Divers pulled a man's body from the water off South Bass Island Saturday after he went missing while out on his boat.The man's been identified as Jeffrey Jervis, 46, of Whitehouse. His body was found at about 4 p.m., said Stephanie Leis, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. His family has been notified and an autopsy will be completed by the Ottawa County Coroner's Office.Jervis was on a 30-foot boat with his wife not far from the shore of South Bass Island. He went missing Friday after he went for a swim off his boat. His wife said he went under the water, but he never resurfaced.She called the Coast Guard Station Marblehead, which sent a boat to begin a search at about 11:30 a.m. She then tried to navigate the boat, but was having a tough time since she wasn't the normal operator.The boat went aground and emergency responders took her to a nearby state park, according to a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman.A helicopter from the Detroit Coast Guard Air Station and several other boats joined the search for Jervis. The department of natural resources and Sandusky and Ottawa counties helped the Coast Guard with the search.The search continued until after 7:30 p.m. Friday when it was called off due to storms, but it resumed Saturday morning. The natural resources officers used side-scan sonar to locate Jervis."We were assisted by the dive teams from the Sandusky and Huron fire departments to retrieve the body," Leis said.Reach reporter Michael Harrington at michaelharrington@sanduskyregister.com, follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegister