SANDPOINT — The Kootenai County Sheriff’s sonar team called off its search Monday for a Washington state man who presumably drowned in Lake Pend Oreille earlier this month.

The team’s specialized sonar instruments were unable to see the bottom of the lake, where the body of John Key is thought to be, the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office announced on Tuesday.

Key, 67, of Newman Lake, was last seen on July 2. Friends discovered his unoccupied vessel while returning to Bayview after a day on the lack, sheriff’s officials said.

The boat was in neutral and its engine was idling. Search efforts by Key’s friends and sheriff’s deputies turned up no sign of the missing man during operations on July 3 and July 4.

Key presumably disappeared in over 1100 feet of water. A body in the water will usually sink to the bottom and is rarely recovered from those depths. A combination of the extreme depths, associated water pressure and cold temperatures make resurfacing of the victim highly unlikely. The Naval Research Detachment in Bayview is reporting water temperatures at approximately 39 degrees below 600 feet.

“The search results are very disappointing, but given the depth of the lake in the Cedar Creek area, were not unexpected. We were all hoping to provide closure for the family and find some answers on how the tragic event occurred,” Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler said in a statement.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.