The search for a missing swimmer at a residential lake ended in tragedy on Tuesday afternoon, according to Chapel Hill emergency responders.

After issuing an alert warning of a search for an 85-year-old swimming reported missing in Eastwood Lake earlier in the day, an update from Chapel Hill Police just before 3 p.m. said the body of the man was located by search and rescue teams. Police officers and firefighters first responded to a call about the missing man around 11 a.m. and his body was recovered around 2:30 p.m.

A spokesperson for the Chapel Hill Police Department confirmed to Chapelboro the deceased is Konrad Jarausch. Jarausch was a professor emeritus at UNC, who taught history and was an expert on modern German and European history. The German-American author and editor of dozens of books was a resident in the neighborhood around Eastwood Lake, according to voter registration records.

Konrad Jarausch during a 2016 interview on UNC-TV’s “North Carolina Bookwatch” promoting his “Out of Ashes” book. (Photo via PBS/UNC-TV.)

Dozens of emergency responders and their vehicles collected through the day at South Lakeshore Drive and the nearby beach access to the water, effectively closing the road to all traffic during the search. Tuesday’s update said no additional information is currently being made publicly available.

In addition to Chapel Hill Police and Fire departments, the responders from Orange County EMS, the South Orange Rescue Squad, the Carrboro Fire Department, the North Chatham Volunteer Fire Department, North Carolina Emergency Management, and staff with the Orange, Chatham, Durham and Alamance County sheriff’s offices all assisted in the search and subsequent emergency work.

The 48-acre Eastwood Lake and its accompanying park is privately owned and operated by the Lake Forest Association, and is open only to neighborhood residents and their guests. The association’s website warns that the lake is a “swim at your own risk” feature, since any Eastwood Lake staff are not trained or working as lifeguards. Anyone who swims is strongly encouraged to wear a life vest and practice water safety, says the organization’s guidelines.

Featured image by Dakota Moyer/Chapel Hill Media Group.

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