Body found in Newcastle Reservoir in Iron County identified

A 53-year-old man’s body was pulled out from the water by people recreating at Newcastle Reservoir.

Dispatchers received a call about the incident at 8:45 a.m. Monday. Deputies with the Iron County Sheriff’s Office, along with personnel from Beryl Ambulance, BLM law enforcement, the Utah Medical Examiner’s office and a deep-water recovery dive team from the Brian Head Marshal’s office responded to the scene.

The man pulled out of the water was identified as Andrew Michael Rowe, a resident of Hurricane.

A 63-year-old man identified as Bill Bowden, also a resident of Hurricane told investigators he and Rowe set up camp the night before to go fishing, started drinking, and become very intoxicated.

Bowden added that the next morning, he only remembers waking up in the water and crawling over rocks on his way back to shore. Bowden filed a stolen vehicle report with on-scene deputies telling deputies he believed “Andy” Andrew Rowe stole his black 2002 Kia van because it was no longer parked at their campsite.

Bowden was transported to Cedar City Hospital where he was treated and released for minor injuries to his feet and legs. Rowe’s body was transported by local mortuary personnel to the Utah State Medical Examiner’s office for an autopsy.

At about 1:48 p.m., dive team members found the black 2002 Kia van approximately 200 feet from shore, and in about 15 feet of water. The van registered to Bowden was pulled from the Newcastle Reservoir and towed back to the sheriff’s office in Cedar City for further examination.

Iron County Sheriff detectives said they are still processing evidence in an attempt to determine how Bowden’s vehicle ended up in the lake. Alcohol is believed to be a factor in this incident and the cause and manner of Rowe’s death is still pending at this time, investigators said.

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