“She was a sweetheart,” Aldstadt said on break from work at the Rooster’s Wings on Merily Way, in Huber Heights. “She had just gotten engaged.”
Perdue was pronounced dead at 11:05 p.m. Saturday at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton.
It was the second fatality of the season in the lake, east of Waynesville, after three years without a fatality at the lake park, according to Matt Eiselstein, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
On Monday, the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office was awaiting further test results before ruling on the cause or manner of the Perdue’s death.
Perdue’s body was examined on Sunday, but the cause and manner of her death were listed as “pending” Monday, pending results of toxicology and histology tests expected to take six to eight weeks to complete, according to the coroner’s office.
Perdue was being towed Saturday behind a power boat on an inner tube when it slowly rolled over, according to Massie Twp. Fire Chief Scott Hines. Perdue was wearing her life jacket, according to witnesses.
She was not breathing when she was brought to shore, but first responders performed CPR and she was flown to Miami Valley Hospital by a Careflight helicopter about 9:30 p.m.
Almost two months ago, on May 24, Robert “Bobby” Stegemoller, 47, of Maineville, was boating with his daughter on the lake, east of Waynesville, when he tried to retrieve their boat as it drifted away from an island where they had stopped for a picnic.
The daughter tried to save Stegemoller — who was not wearing a life jacket — herself after calling 911, but had to leave him after they struggled to stay above water, resurfacing twice before he went down for the last time, according to Hines.
Stegemoller’s death was ruled an accidental drowning.
Before Perdue and Stegemoller, the last person to die at Caesar Creek Lake was Paul E. “Eddy” Remmeter, 68, of Springfield who drowned after falling from his boat while fishing in May 2012.
On Monday, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources declined to comment on the cause of Perdue’s death, while awaiting the coroner’s test results.
However Eiselstein said the preliminary investigation indicated Perdue did not hit her head. He said the lake level was rising after being lowered for construction on a new marina.
Also, Eiselstein said the state did not anticipate taking any action against anyone in the case.
On Monday, co-workers were putting together a fundraiser for Perdue’s son.
“We were pregnant at the same time,” Aldstadt recalled. “She was probably one of the most devoted mothers I’ve ever met.”
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