Daniel Scott Emerson’s truck is pictured floating to the surface of Chautauqua Lake on Friday. Photo courtesy Erie County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page

LAKEWOOD – Village of Lakewood Trustees heard an update Monday about Daniel Scott Emerson.

Emerson’s truck was found in Chautauqua Lake near the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

Lakewood-Busti Police Chief Matthew Bentley said that the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department dive team located the vehicle around 9 a.m. March 16, and on March 20 the vehicle was found in shallow water near the bridge between pillars 3 and 4, and removed from the lake.

“The vehicle was extricated from the lake this past Friday. He was not in the vehicle. The window was rolled down on the back driver side, so the theory is that he tried to escape the vehicle, and now it’s just a recovery mission,” Bentley said. “From this point going forward, the (Chautauqua) County dive team was out today with their underwater sonar attempting to locate him. They still believe that he’s somewhere in the area where the truck was. It’s just a matter of finding him.”

Bentley added that LBPD and the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department are in a holding pattern.

“We’re still following the leads on our end to make sure that we’re dotting all of our I’s and crossing our T’s,” Bentley added.

Both LBPD and the county sheriff’s department, Bentley said, are working backwards to create a timeline for when Emerson entered the lake, where he entered the lake, and how long he was in the lake.

“So, it’s a little bit of a process,” Bentley noted.

Bentley said Emerson had disappeared around 12:30 a.m. March 3 and the missing persons report was filed March 5 at 11:45 a.m.

“Thank you for all you are doing for the scene,” Mayor Randy Holcomb said.

Trustee Ellen Barnes agreed.

“Thank everyone for all their extra time and the sheriff’s department,” Barnes noted.

Bentley said the help the sheriff’s department provided has been very much appreciated.