UPDATE: The Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office announced that the body of the missing father and husband from Saturday’s domestic incident at Atwood Lake was found. The body of a male Caucasian was recovered from the lake Sunday morning. A child’s body was previously recovered.
The names of the deceased will be released by the Tuscarawas County Coroner’s Office once family has all been notified and identities are confirmed. The Sheriff is confident the deceased are the four-year-old son and 45-year-old father of the family but are withholding the names as a matter of identification protocol.
TUSCARAWAS COUNTY, Ohio – Tuscarawas County Sheriff Sheriff Orvis L. Campbell released the following statement on social media about an incident at Atwood Lake on Saturday that left an Amish boy dead, a husband missing and a mom suspected of driving a golf cart filled with kids into the lake:
“On Saturday, August 23, 2025 at approximately 10:39 hours Deputies and Atwood Rangers responded to an incident where a woman and three of her children crashed a golf cart into Atwood Lake next to Atwood Marina West. After helping the woman out of the water, the woman made concerning statements about conversing with God. Her 15-year-old daughter and twin 18-year-old sons got out of the water on their own and were physically safe. It was evident that the crash into the water was intentional by the mother. This family is Amish and reside in Holmes County and were reportedly just visiting the lake for the weekend.
Conversation with the woman and children then made responding units concerned for the safety of a four-year-old male son and the woman’s husband who could not be located. Throughout the day, numerous locations were searched without finding the four-year-old boy or the husband. It became evident after piecing together numerous statements from the woman, the children and other witnesses above that foul play was suspected.
At 1803 hours, divers located the four-year-old off the end of a boat dock at Atwood Lake. At this time the mother has been hospitalized for some mental health concerns and the husband remains missing. His safety is definitely in question and he was last seen by a witness unrelated to the family at about 0115 hours with the mother at the same boat dock where the four-year-old was later located at the bottom of the lake.
Searchers only know where the man was last seen by the witness but he has not been found. Searchers abandoned the water search after dark and will begin again in the morning. The 15- and 18-year-old children were released to other family and everyone in that family has been cooperative and helpful in this investigation.
Sheriff Campbell said, “While I understand that this news release leaves many unanswered questions, I will not be releasing any other information at this time. While we are conducting this investigation with our partners from the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, they have asked us to take the lead in the investigation. We will update the media and public on Sunday as we continue to search and learn more from witnesses. We have many agencies to thank for their assistance today but will do that at a later time.”
