A deadly boating accident on Utah’s Lake Powell last week led to a recovery team searching through the weekend for the bodies of two victims, and one was found late on Sunday night.
The Jackman family were out in their motorboat on the lake when the driver, 59-year old Adrian Jackman, reportedly became distracted by one of the six children on board and crashed into a houseboat in the narrow channel. Jackman’s wife, 57-year old Marilyn, was killed in the accident; their daughter, Jessica, and her friend, Valerie Rae Bradshaw, were thrown from the boat and presumed dead. Bradshaw’s body was recovered using a special robot after recovery equipment experienced malfunctions in the water, which can reach depths of 400 feet. Jessica Jackman, however, is still missing. Authorities believe they are now looking for a body rather than a living person.
Friends and family were in shock at the news over the weekend, saying the Jackmans had been going to the lake for years.
“It was Marilyn’s favorite place to be in the world. She talked about it all the time,” said longtime friend Kari Wahlquist. “It was her heaven on earth, so it’s kind of ironic that’s where the angels came to take her home.”
An investigation is ongoing; Adrian Jackman, his 11-year old daughter, and one other motorboat passenger were flown to a nearby hospital for treatment but were later released. No one on the houseboat was injured.