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Body of woman recovered from Lake Okeechobee

Posted at 12:22 PM, Feb 15, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-15 12:40:35-05

CLEWISTON, Fla. (AP) -- Authorities say the body of a woman has been recovered from Lake Okeechobee, where two boaters went missing earlier this month.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Carol Lyn Parrish says a fisherman found the body Saturday afternoon on the south side of the lake near Clewiston.

The body was turned over to the Lee County medical examiner's office, which will perform an autopsy and confirm the woman's identity.

John Russ, 72, and his 62-year-old wife Diane were last seen Feb. 6 in an airboat in the lake.

The Palm Beach Post reports that the Myakka City couple had gone on a boating trip near Bird Island, using a Panther airboat.

Wildlife commission officers found the couple's airboat Sunday, but no one was on board.