CHEAT LAKE, W.Va. — Monongalia County Sheriff Todd Forbes and investigators have confirmed the body in the car pulled from Cheat Lake Sunday is that of a missing man from Smithfield, Pennsylvania.
Forbes said Kevin Lattaille, 59, was inside the car pulled from Cheat Lake around noon Sunday. Investigators confirmed the car is the missing 2013 Hyundai Tucson that was tied to Lattaille.
The road and weather conditions on the day Lattaille went missing were extremely poor. Falling temperatures and the largest snowfall of the season reduced visibility and created very slick conditions.
How the vehicle ended up in the lake remains under investigation, and the Sheriff’s Office is seeking assistance from the public. Detectives are looking for photos, or video of the I-68 Eastbound Cheat Lake Bridge area on Sunday, January 19, 2025, at approximately noon. Information can be left by calling 304-291-7260.
Original story:
Police, firefighters and divers pulled a car with a body inside from icy Cheat Lake near Morgantown Sunday.
“All we’re going to be able to confirm is that there was in fact a vehicle and we can also verify there was a victim in the vehicle,” Sheriff Todd Forbes said. “We can confirm there was a victim in the vehicle.”
The body hasn’t yet been identified by authorities but family members of a missing Pennsylvania man posted on Facebook Sunday night that it was the body of 59-year-old Kevin Lataille, who had been reported missing earlier this month.
It’s believed the car may have plunged off the bridge during last Sunday’s snowstorm when there were multiple wrecks on I-68. There was poor visibility at the time.
Dive teams received their final briefing around 9 a.m., according to Monongalia County Sheriff Todd Forbes. By 10:25 a.m. the first team started a careful trek of more than 1,000 feet across unknown ice conditions to get to the suspected scene of the vehicle.
After about an hour, it appeared crews located the vehicle and moved a wrecker into place and began final preparations to pull the car from the icy waters.
Shortly after noon, the car was pulled from the ice and hoisted to the top of the bridge.
The investigation began Wednesday when the sheriff’s department closed the section of interstate for an unknown investigation. Friday, it was confirmed the recovery operation would take place Sunday after an extensive safety assessment.
In addition to more than 30 divers on the scene, there were also police from multiple agencies and Monongalia EMS.
“We do want to thank the hundreds of volunteers that have come out. It takes an unparalleled amount of bravery to stand on that ice right now,” Forbes said. “We want to thank them, and we’ll do that later, but we’ll release more when we get more.”