Sheriff’s Office identifies Wichita man who died at Sedgwick County Park

Update 2:15 p.m. Thursday:

The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office identified the victim as Dale Reif of Wichita.

Original story:

A 59-year-old Wichita man died Wednesday after jumping in a lake at the Sedgwick County Park to save his dog.

The dog survived.

Sedgwick County sheriff’s Lt. Tim Myers said first responders were called at 10:24 a.m. by bystanders who couldn’t find the man after seeing him go into the water. A wallet and watch were found on the shore but he went in with his clothes on. The man’s body was found underwater at around 11 a.m., Myers said.

The man was found roughly 30 yards offshore near a buoy. Emergency crews worked on the man before declaring him dead at 11:30 a.m.

“We believe he believed that his pet was in trouble so he went into the water to retrieve his pet,” Myers said. “We don’t know if he had a medical condition or if he just drowned.”

Dispatch said the Wichita Fire Department deployed a boat for the rescue. Myers didn’t know whether it was used in the rescue.

Myers said the dog was found near the man’s vehicle. They were going to hold the dog until the man’s family came to pick it up.

This story was originally published October 2, 2019 at 1:46 PM.