A body recovered from the waters of Owasco Lake Tuesday morning is likely that of a man presumed to have drowned in July, according to the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's office, along with the New York State Police, found the body of a white male matching the age, physical description and clothing of Thomas Goff, who has been missing since July 25 after jumping off a boat in the center of the lake near Scipio, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.

The recovery was made with the cooperation of the New York State Police Scuba Team and the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office at 11 a.m. in 156 feet of water, near the center of the lake just south of Ensenore Road in Scipio, police said.

The body was transferred to the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office for positive identification and autopsy.

Goff, 46, of Newark Valley, was vacationing in Scipio at the time he apparently drowned. He had been operating a motorboat that was towing a raft with his wife and two young grandsons who were thrown into the water when the raft overturned.

Goff, who was not wearing a life preserver, jumped off the boat and pushed the children and his wife to the boat before going under the water.

Two other area drownings followed the Owasco Lake accident.

A 50-year-old Seneca Falls man died in Cayuga Lake Aug. 2 after falling off a boat anchored near Harris Park in Cayuga, where boaters had gathered to watch a fireworks display. His body was found after a three-day search that was hampered by seaweed.

And a 20-year-old Syracuse man died Aug. 15 while swimming with friends in Cross Lake near Cato. His body was recovered within hours in shallow water near a dock at Cross Lake Marina.

The search for Goff took so long, police said, because of the depth of the water in the center of Owasco Lake and because searchers had difficulty pinpointing the location. Strong winds had pushed the boat he had been operating quite a distance from where he had jumped into the water, leaving searchers with a wide area to search.

Dozens of police officers firefighters and volunteers took part in the search for Goff, which had been ongoing, with a few days taken off, for more than five weeks.

The body was eventually located using New York State Police side-scan sonar, then recovered and brought to the surface using a remote operated vehicle, police said.

The Citizen staff report