ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Authorities believe a body found in a private lake Sunday morning is that of a man they had been searching for since Tuesday.

Belmont County Sheriff Dave Lucas was attending a worship service at East Richland Friends Church, located a short distance from the lake on Country Club Road, when a deputy entered the sanctuary to get him. A resident living near the lake had called 911 after spotting “something that hadn’t been there before,” Lucas said. The sheriff’s department and Cumberland Trail Fire Department responded immediately and found the body of a man in the lake.

Those agencies, with assistance from Ohio County’s regional dive team and the private dive company Marion Hill Associates of New Brighton, Pa., had been searching since Tuesday evening for a man believed to have drowned in the body of water near Belmont Hills Country Club. The crews used two types of sonar and a cadaver dog in their efforts, but thick vegetation and a large amount of silt beneath the surface hampered their progress.

The Guernsey County Sheriff’s Office provided an airboat to begin the process of dredging the lake before the search was suspended Friday evening to allow the responders to rest and regroup and in hopes that the visibility would improve if the water were left undisturbed.

“Cumberland Trail and the sheriff’s office suspended the search but made frequent checks throughout the weekend,” Lucas said, noting crews had planned to resume their efforts this morning.

When the fire and sheriff’s departments arrived at the scene Sunday, Lucas said they were able to recover the body. Tim Skinner, an investigator with the county coroner’s office, took possession of the body and is completing an examination before releasing it to the man’s family.

Although Lucas still declined to officially identify the missing man Sunday, he said investigators are confident the body is that of the man they were seeking.

“From everything his family said and the description, we believe it is him,” Lucas said. “We have no doubt.”

A friend who had been swimming with the man when he disappeared was at the site of the search earlier this week. He identified the man as 32-year-old Dennis Schmidt of Barnesville. Eladil Gonzalez of St. Clairsville, who said he was present during the incident, said he, Schmidt and another man were swimming in the lake. After Gonzalez and the other man went to shore, they turned to Schmidt, who reportedly gave them a thumbs-up that he was fine.

As the two men were talking on the bank, Gonzalez said, they realized Schmidt had disappeared. They searched for him and then called 911. That is when first responders got involved.

“As always, our thoughts and prayers go out to the family,” Lucas said after the body was recovered Sunday. “We’re glad we were able to put some closure to this for them.”

Lucas added that there is no reason to suspect foul play in this case and termed the death an accidental drowning.

“In my career, I’ve seen a lot of accidental drownings where people went swimming on someone else’s property. Ponds and strip pits in this area are not designed for swimming,” he said. “Unfortunately, we have accidents like this when people don’t heed those warnings.”

Lucas said swimming should be limited to residential or public pools or designated swimming beaches at local lakes. He noted that “No Trespassing” signs were posted on the property where the man drowned last week.

Belmont County Chief Deputy James Zusack confirmed early Sunday that the body had been found before 9 a.m. Lucas said all crews had cleared the scene by 10:30-11 a.m. Lucas did not expect any further investigation to occur at the site.