Body of Missing Ventura Man Recovered

DVORAK, WOLFRAM

Posted By: Pat Ludeke (email)
Date: 1/21/2018 at 23:44:14

Body of Missing Ventura Man Recovered From Clear Lake January 28, 2004

VENTURA-The body of a Ventura man who was missing for six days was recovered from the icy waters of Clear Lake, Friday, January 23.

The Cerro Gordo Sheriff’s Office reported that at 12:31 p.m., the body of Phillip Dvorak of 4 East Lake St., Ventura, was located southeast of the sandbar's southern point at MacIntosh State Park in Clear Lake.

Dvorak's 1987 Jeep Cherokee was recovered Thursday, 80 feet south of the point. On Friday, officials located Mr. Dvorak's body 100 yards southeast from the location of the vehicle, under the ice.

According to news reports, Dvorak, 42, left home to go ice fishing after 5:00 a.m., Saturday, January 17. He had an ice shack west of the Farmer's Beach entrance to Clear Lake. The weather that morning was foggy.

When he did not return home that evening, his wife, Cindy, reported him missing to the Cerro Gordo County Sheriffs Department.

A search of the area was conducted by the fire fighters from the Ventura Protective Association. An aerial search of the lake by helicopter from Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa was also carried out on Tuesday, January 20. There was no indication that he had been in his ice shack.
The father of two daughters, Philip Dvorak was a ten-year member of the Ventura Protective Association. He was an employee of the 3M company of Forest City.

Dvorak's vehicle was discovered Thursday morning by Bob Wolfram Jr. of Ventura who decided to search on his own. "It was just something I had to do." he said, adding that he has fished Clear Lake all his life. "I probably know it as well as anybody. So I took it upon myself to go down there and searched about two hours." He noted that due to the current, the ice on the channel has always been notorious.

He said that he drilled approximately 25 holes from one shore to the other. "I'd get my portable fish finder and stick it down into the holes that I drilled because something that big would show up. "I got to the last bunch of holes that I drilled and put the fish finder down and stuck my hands into my pockets to warm them up," he continued. "I looked over and sure enough, there was a little speck of transmission fluid."

Wolfram called his father, Ventura Mayor Bob Wolfram Sr., who notified authorities. Formal search operations began that afternoon. On Friday, an underwater rescue and recovery team from Spirit Lake was called to assist in the recovery of the vehicle.

The Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s office was assisted in the investigation by the Ventura Police Department, Ventura fire department, Iowa DNR, Mason City Fire Department; Kuhlman & Kirshbaum Recovery of Spirit Lake, Snell's Ambulance Service and Meyers Wrecker Service.