Missing Northern California man found dead in neighboring county a week after he went fishing
A Yuba County man who went out fishing a week ago and became the focus of an extensive missing person search was found dead Thursday morning near Englebright Lake in neighboring Nevada County, Northern California authorities said.
Michael Babb, 57, of Wheatland, had said he was going he was going fishing in the early hours of Nov. 23, according to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office. A friend later reported Babb missing to the Wheatland Police Department.
About 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers park ranger found Babb’s vehicle parked near Englebright Lake’s Narrows Boat Launch and Day Use area. Nevada County sheriff’s officials were then asked to assist in the missing person investigation, the Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post.
Sheriff’s officials said Wednesday that Babb would likely have had a backpack with fishing equipment, and he was not known to have had a boat.
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue joined the search Wednesday afternoon. Sheriff’s officials from nearby Yuba, Placer and Butte counties joined the search Thursday morning, according to the social media post.
Authorities found Babb’s body on land near the base of Englebright Dam. Nevada County sheriff’s officials said a coroner’s case has been initiated, and his cause of death will be determined following an autopsy.
