New Jersey man's body found in Lake Tahoe seven weeks after boat washed ashore

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A Dumont, New Jersey man missing in Lake Tahoe since August has been found.

Ryan Normoyle, 29, had rented a boat from the Ski Run Boat Company on August 10, 2020. That night, the boat washed ashore in Glenbrook, Nevada but Ryan was not with the boat.

South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) opened a missing persons report the day the boat was found and an investigation began with the help of Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO). They found Ryan had used his cell phone to record himself jumping off the boat, but the boat was left slightly in gear and started moving away from him at a slow rate of speed.

Investigators think Ryan couldn’t swim fast enough to catch it. The phone captured GPS data while recording and provided a possible location for a search and rescue operation.

DCSO Marine 7 and Washoe County Sheriff Marine 9 quickly responded and deployed their Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs) to search the area.

The marine units worked the area heavily for several days with no luck.

A UC Davis Research Team was called to provide additional data on the water currents and conditions the day Ryan went missing. The team also used their unmanned submarine to search and scan the bottom of Lake Tahoe in search for the missing man.

Ryan's Family reached out to Keith Cormican, founder of Bruce's Legacy, a nonprofit organization in Wisconsin that specializes in underwater body recovery. Keith jumped in to help as he has several times at Lake Tahoe as well as across the country.

On September 24, SLTPD started another search for Ryan with the assistance of Bruce’s Legacy, DCSO, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office and the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department. Two days later, Ryan was found near the GPS coordinates that were collected from his phone. He was 1,565 feet under the water.

It was becoming dark and would be the deepest recovery ever completed by Bruce's Legacy in North America, both providing major challenges in bringing the victim up to the surface.

On September 27, Ryan’s body was recovered with the use of ROVs.

Cormican said this is the deepest recorded recovery in the United States and Canada. Previously, the deepest recovery in Lake Tahoe was in 2018 at a depth of 1,062 feet.

"Locating Ryan and bringing him to his family would not have been possible without the support of the Normoyle family and the outstanding partnerships from everyone involved," said SLTPD Lt. Travis Cabral.

There is a GoFundMe account set up to help the family - https://www.gofundme.com/f/search-for-ryan.