Body of Missing Teen Found in Frozen NJ Lake, Search Resumes for 2nd Boy

The body of a teenage boy was found Tuesday in the partially frozen New Jersey lake where he and another teen are believed to have fallen through the ice, authorities said.

The other boy has not been found, despite dive teams spending six and half hours in the waters of Budd Lake in Mount Olive, two and a half of them at the bottom of the lake with sonars. The search was suspended in the evening and resumed Wednesday morning.

Clyde Schimanski Jr. said his 15-year-old son, Clyde Schimanski III, is one of the boys who fell through the ice and who has not been found. Authorities have not formally identified the boy whose body was recovered. 

The father told NBC 4 New York that his son told him by phone Monday afternoon that he planned to go ride his bike on the lake with a friend, which is something the boy had done before. When he heard helicopters and saw the news reports, the father rushed down to the lake to speak with investigators -- but they had nothing concrete to tell him. So he returned Tuesday to wait. 

He told NBC 4 New York he didn't know the other boy who was believed to be at the lake with his son.

At a vigil Tuesday night, friends of the two boys brought flowers and lit candles at a makeshift memorial outside Budd Lake Chapel. 

Lexi Mitchell, a friend of the unidentified boy, said he was "always funny, happy, smiling. He always liked being with his family and friends more than anything."

Police began searching for the boys after several 911 calls came in reporting screams for help coming from the lake in Mount Olive Township shortly before 6:30 p.m.

One of the 911 callers, William Hardy, lives across the lake with a friend and told NBC 4 New York he heard cries and went to the lake to investigate in the dark. 

"We heard some individuals calling for help, saying, 'Please help us. Please save us, someone help,'" said Hardy.

Hardy ventured onto the ice to locate the voices but could not safely get far enough to reach them. 

"I took the flashlight and walked out about 800 feet," he said. "They're still another 100 feet in front of me, the ice is cracking. I can see a cell phone, I can still hear them. They're still talking to me and then the firefighters came." 

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