Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Body of 1 Boater Found, Woman Still Missing

The body of one of two boaters missing since an accident on the lake Sunday was recovered on Wednesday, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials said.

On one of the last dives Wednesday afternoon in water about 130 feet deep, the body of Joey Halsey, 27, of Sylmar, was found, officials said.

“It was in the vicinity of the crash in the part of the lake called Yellowbar,” said Deputy Paul Hardy, one of two deputies assigned to the Pyramid Lake Sheriff’s Station.

The area has been the focus of an intensive search involving divers from the Sheriff’s Department, U.S. Forest Service and Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguard Division.

The body of the second victim, Leah Halbert, 24, also of Sylmar, is still missing.

The speedboat, with four people aboard, apparently sank after hitting a wake and plunging tip-first into the water, officials said. Although all aboard were wearing life jackets, only two of the boaters--Halsey’s wife and Halbert’s boyfriend--were rescued.

The family and friends of the missing have been keeping a vigil at the boat launching pad.

Divers will resume the search for the second victim this morning, he said.

Just hours before the boat accident on Sunday, a Canyon Country man was killed in an unrelated crash on the lake when his jet ski hit a bass fishing boat.

Both accidents are still under investigation, Hardy said.