MOUNT PLEASANT -- Henry County Sheriff's officials on Thursday said Ames Police Sgt. Howard James Snider drowned trying to get to his daughter, who was in the boat.
Snider, 51, of Nevada was at Lake Geode with his family Sunday and had been on a fishing boat. The boat had been pulled to a dock, and most of the occupants had gotten out, but Snider's daughter still was in the boat when the wind pushed it away from the dock.
Snider's daughter, the investigation indicated, was unable to get the boat started, so the lawman jumped into the water to swim toward the boat to get to his daughter.
Henry County Sheriff's investigators said Snider "was unable to continue swimming and went underwater."
A preliminary autopsy report indicated the cause of Snider's death was drowning.
Snider was a 23-year veteran of the Ames Police Department. He is survived by his wife and two children.
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