Kentucky

Updated: Bodies of Chinese students found in Lake Cumberland after days of searching

Rescue crews have found the bodies of two international students in Lake Cumberland after days of searching.

Guan Lian and Yanqi Xing, both 23-year-old men, were recovered about 2:15 a.m. Monday, according to Russell County Coroner Mark Coots and H.M. Bottom, the emergency management director for Russell County.

Coots said the men were from China and were studying in Oxford, Ohio, home to Miami University. They were not related, and Coots was working with the families to make arrangements to have the men’s bodies returned to China.

The men went missing around 4:15 p.m. Friday in a section of the lake called Low Gap, between the Safe Harbor Jamestown marina and Wolf Creek Dam. The men and two women were swimming near a houseboat, Bottom said Saturday. The boat drifted away and the men disappeared under the surface while they were swimming after it, Bottom said.

The two women were picked up by another boat, Bottom said.

The water is about 150 feet deep and murky in that area, Bottom said. Crews used sonar to help find the bodies, Bottom said.

Reporter Bill Estep contributed to this story.

This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 8:51 AM.

Jeremy Chisenhall
Lexington Herald-Leader
Jeremy Chisenhall covers criminal justice and breaking news for the Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com. He joined the paper in 2020, and is originally from Erlanger, Ky.
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