Body of Punxsutawney man who had been missing in Gilpin found in Allegheny River

Joyce Hanz | Wednesday, May 26, 2021 7:49 p.m.

Joyce Hanz | Tribune-Review

Rescue personnel gather at the Johnetta Campground area along the Allegheny River in Gilpin on Wednesday afternoon.

The body of a Punxsutawney man missing since Saturday in Gilpin was found Wednesday afternoon in the Allegheny River, according to the Armstrong County coroner.

Coroner Brian Myers confirmed that the body of Nathan “Nate” Lauer, 38, of Punxsutawney, was found near the same area he was reported missing over the weekend.

Lauer was last seen about 7:30 a.m. Saturday at a campsite along Johnetta Road, according to one witness’s statement to police.

That witness, identified only by last name in a news release issued by state police, told investigators that he, Lauer and another man drank through the night and into the early-morning hours at a camp along Upper Allegheny Drive.

There are about 50 campsites along Johnetta Road, east of where the Allegheny River is joined by the smaller Kiski River.

Multiple organizations including state police from the Kittanning station, police and firefighters from Gilpin, firefighters from Leechburg, Vandergrift and North Apollo along with Greensburg bloodhounds searched for Lauer for more than six hours on Sunday without success.

Myers said the incident remains under investigation by his office and state police from the Kittanning station. An autopsy will be conducted.