The search for a sunken off-road vehicle in Payette Lake is over.
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality told Valley Lookout on Tuesday that it will not require the UTV’s owner, McCall resident Dan Scott, to continue efforts to remove the sunken vehicle after no trace of it could be found during a three-day search late last month.
“Because of the small amount of oil and gas involved, which evaporates rather quickly, DEQ is taking no further action,” said DEQ Boise Regional Office Administrator Troy Smith. “However, if the location of the UTV in Payette Lake becomes known, the owner will be responsible for recovering the vehicle.”
Mountain West Commercial Diving of Boise used sonar, underwater drones, and physical dives to find the UTV, which sank in an estimated 200 feet of water on Jan. 25 after breaking through thin ice near Mile High Marina.
Search operation detailed in report
Overall, the company spent 36 hours across three days trying to find the UTV, according to a report prepared by Mountain West that Valley Lookout obtained from DEQ through the Idaho Public Records Act.
On May 14, Mountain West established a search area by meeting with Scott and using eyewitness accounts, photos, and videos to determine where the UTV fell through the ice.
Sound waves, also known as sonar, were then used to map the area, which the report said is “characterized by steep and log-filled underwater terrain.” The sound waves also detected “several promising” leads on the UTV’s location.
Mountain West returned to Payette Lake on May 27 with full dive gear, oil and gas containment booms, and lift bags that could be used to float the UTV to the surface. The crew then began investigating each potential site it marked on May 14, often using an underwater drone.
“For 12 hours, sonar was also used to sweep the lake in a larger pattern to expand the search,” the report said. “During this day, several log piles and a few submerged boats were identified, but nothing was confirmed as the UTV.”
The search continued on May 28 as Mountain West scanned a wider area and investigated four additional leads picked up by sonar. Still, there was no sign of the UTV.
DEQ Waste and Remediation Manager Matthew Pabich called Mountain West later that day and discussed the “challenging nature of the operation.” The group then agreed to end the search, citing the low risk of the UTV to water quality.
“It was mutually agreed that Dan Scott had performed his due diligence in attempting to locate the UTV,” the report said. “Matthew then stated that it was acceptable to him and his superior to discontinue the search.”
McCall: ‘Unfortunate’ recovery failed
The City of McCall, which operates a drinking water system fed by Payette Lake, provided a statement to Valley Lookout on Wednesday in response to DEQ’s decision to disband the search.
“While it is unfortunate it wasn’t possible to recover the UTV, the city appreciates the efforts the DEQ and the owner have put in so far to remove it,” City Manager Forest Atkinson said. “We are interested in collaborating with DEQ and other relevant entities on appropriate measures to avoid similar incidents in the future.”
The city’s drinking water system has two intake stations on Payette Lake, including one that draws water in offshore of Legacy Beach, just a few hundred feet away from where the UTV sank.
However, no contaminants associated with the UTV have been found in filters at the city’s water treatment plant in Spring Mountain Ranch.
Without donors like you, this story would not exist.
Make a donation of any size here
The vehicle, a 2017 Polaris RZR 900S Trail, was estimated to have about seven to eight gallons of fuel in its tank when it sank.
A risk assessment conducted by DEQ following the incident concluded that the UTV posed a “very low” risk to human health and water quality in the lake.
Efforts to recover the UTV were funded by Scott, who was driving the vehicle when it broke through the ice and escaped unharmed before it sank.
Scott, a real estate broker for Whitetail Club and the former president and general manager of Shore Lodge, previously told Valley Lookout he would not be commenting on the incident or the removal efforts.
