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The death toll from a tragic boating accident on Lake Tahoe rose to eight on Monday after officials recovered the bodies of the last two missing individuals. The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office reported that the incident occurred Saturday afternoon when a 27-foot powerboat capsized during a sudden storm near D.L. Bliss State Park.
The boat, carrying ten people, was caught in a freak summer storm with wind gusts reaching 35 mph, and snow and rain causing temperatures to drop by 20 degrees. Six victims were found dead on Saturday, and two survivors were taken to a local hospital. The last missing person's body was found Monday afternoon, concluding the search and recovery efforts.
According to the sheriff's office, all six initially recovered victims were adults. The identities of the victims will be released after family notifications are completed. The sheriff's office expressed condolences to the affected families and thanked the numerous agencies involved in the search, including the California State Parks and the United States Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard had suspended its air search on Sunday morning, with Cmdr. David Herndon stating, "Suspending a search is always a difficult decision to make and weighs heavily on each Coast Guard member involved." Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam also expressed his condolences and reminded the public of the unpredictable weather conditions on Lake Tahoe.