LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. — The operator of a tour boat apparently drowned himself in the same lake where the lives of 20 tourists were lost four years ago.
Three of the tourists were from the Downriver area.
Police found the body of Matthew Quirk, 44, of Queensbury, N.Y., on Sept. 12, according to published reports. Quirk’s body was discovered in Lake George, about 50 miles north of Albany.
Authorities began their search after a boat that Quirk had taken out alone was found adrift. The boat belonged to Shoreline Marina. Shoreline Cruises, a company owned by Quirk’s family, recently had settled lawsuits brought by 17 victims for an undisclosed sum.
The family also owned the Ethan Allen, a tour boat that capsized in October 2005, with 47 mostly elderly passengers from Michigan and Ohio aboard. Among those killed were Trenton residents Joyce Chapman, 75; Earl Hawley, 76; and Francis Wrock, 87.
Local survivors included Margaret Kidon, coordinator of the Trenton Travelers group that had arranged the fall color cruise, and 11 other group members.
Investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board said the 40-foot Ethan Allen likely was capsized by the wake of a passing boat, or multiple boats; they also ruled that it was overloaded.
Authorities categorized the death as a suicide. The Post Star in Glens Falls, N.Y., reported unnamed sources saying that Quirk had tied a boat anchor to his body.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.