Update: Several organizations have suspended their searches, but the Bellevue Fire Department is still looking for the body of a 37-year-old Bellevue father who has been missing the inflatable boat carrying him and his son capsized on Phantom Lake on June 20.

The King County Sheriff’s Office Marine Rescue unit has searched the lake using sonar, divers and most recently cadaver dogs. While they were able to narrow their search field, the water’s poor visibility due to the vegetation led them to suspend their water search. King County Air Support also searched the area by helicopter, according to a Marine Rescue representative.

The Bellevue Police Department and county rescue crews say they will be waiting for nature to run its course and bring the man’s body to the water’s surface.

The Bellevue Fire Department, however, continues to scour the lake and will continue until the body is found, spokesperson Ryan Armstrong said.

“Until that is accomplished, we’ll continue to search. We’ll do everything in power to find that resident,” he said.

The man and his son, who survived the boating accident, have not been identified publicly at this time.

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Phantom Lake residents were enjoying the warm weather and extended sunlight of the summer solstice when a storm and tragedy struck. The boat holding a Bellevue man and his son capsized, and while the child was rescued, his father was still missing as of Wednesday.

Neighbor Marv Hertzberg and his wife were outside enjoying the evening when they saw lights and activity on Phantom Lake. Around 9:30 p.m. on June 20, dispatchers received a 911 call from a witness alerting them to a capsized inflatable boat near the 1800 block of 156th Ave. The boat had been carrying a 5-year-old boy and his 37-year-old father.

The child managed to make to it shore with the help of Bellevue firefighter paramedic Kevin Guitron. Diving crews were dispatched and firefighters searched the area for an hour. Resident Steve Wiechert and a handful of other neighbors took to their canoes and small boats and helped with the search.

“The wind was starting to whip up, you could see thunder and lightning in the distance. There’s not massive waves, but when you’re in a 14-foot kayak like mine, there were waves splashing all over me … It was rough. It was definitely a stressful situation,” he said.

The sudden onset of lightning and pouring rain forced officials to call off the search for the night.

“The storm came so quickly and the wind picked up … It did seem like they called off the search quick. I know the weather was bad, but if I had family in the water, I’d want them to push a little more,” Hertzberg said.

Monday’s accident and the ensuing search for the missing father was unusual for the Phantom Lake area. Several residents wandered by the lake’s ranger station the next day, trying to see what crews were doing. Weichert said that he could feel the tension in the area.

Although many residents are used to the water and taking safety precautions, the accident has made him reconsider the safety efforts he and his young children take on the water. The 5-year-old survivor had been wearing a personal floatation device when he and his father fell into the water.

“My kids always wear life vests, but I will probably end up getting one for myself,” he said. “It definitely has made the conversation with the kids about the life vest pretty easy. But I don’t think there will be any closure until there’s a recovery.”

The police department and King County Search and Rescue resumed their hunt early on June 21, adding in sonar detection tools to help search the water. They also used new undisclosed information to focus their search area.

“In the 40 years that we’ve lived here, I can’t think of anything like this happening. It’s very sad,” Hertzberg said.

This is an ongoing story and will be updated with more information as it is made available.