Soldier stationed in Washington state drowns in lake at Mount Rainier National Park

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The body of a soldier stationed in Washington state was recovered Monday from a lake in Mount Rainier National Park after he disappeared beneath the water’s surface while swimming with friends over the weekend.

Antonio Scott, 23, was a specialist in the 42nd Military Police Brigade at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JLBM) in Tacoma.

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Scott was crossing an unnamed lake below Emmons Glacier near White River Campground on Saturday when he began to struggle, park spokeswoman Patricia Wold said in a news release. His friends rushed to help him, but Scott did not resurface from underwater.

Members of Scott's group immediately alerted rangers and a team was hastily dispatched to begin a search, the release said. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Dive Team joined the search Sunday, deploying divers and sonar. The team recovered Scott’s body around noon Monday.

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Dive Team searches an unnamed lake at Mount Rainier. (National Park Service)

“We send our deepest condolences to Specialist Scott’s family, friends, and military colleagues,” said Tracy Swartout, deputy superintendent of Mount Rainier National Park. “We also appreciate the many searchers who contributed to locating him.”

Scott, a native of Mobile, Ala., enlisted in the Army in January 2017, the Tacoma News Tribune reported. JLBM officials told the paper that Scott served as a traffic management collision investigator in the 51st Military Police Detachment.

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Scott received two Army Achievement Medals and the Army Good Conduct Medal during his time in the service, according to the paper.