Nampa man found dead after diving into canal near Lake Lowell

A 49-year-old man from Nampa died Sunday night after diving into a canal near Lake Lowell, according to the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office.

Emergency services were dispatched around 5 p.m. on Sunday to a report of a person possibly drowning in the Lake Lowell Lower Dam Spillway, the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a statement Monday morning. The man’s body was found around 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

A preliminary investigation indicates the man dove into a canal leading into Lake Lowell from a bridge on Hoadley Road and fell headfirst into a shallow area with a concrete bottom, causing a “significant head injury,” according to the sheriff’s office.

“Investigators believe the injury contributed to his inability to escape the water, resulting in drowning,” the sheriff’s office wrote. No foul play is suspected.

“All available information indicates this was a tragic accident,” Canyon County Sheriff Kieran Donahue wrote in a statement.

The Sheriff’s Office identified the man as Mark E. Steves.

Responding agencies included police and fire departments from Caldwell, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office and the Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue Unit.

The investigation into the man’s death is ongoing.