Update 3/16/16 6:00 pm
Just before 6:00 on Wednesday evening, divers and law enforcement successfully extracted Ronald Kubiak’s vehicle from the NPPD canal.
A diver with Sutherland Dive and Rescue located the car several hours earlier about seven miles west of the Gerald Gentleman Power Plant.
Investigators with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office will process the vehicle.
As authorities continue to search for the missing car of a Sutherland man whose body was found in the NPPD canal, south of Sutherland, we now know more about how he died.
Employees at the Nebraska Public Power District’s Gerald Gentleman Power Plant found Ronald Kubiak’s body in the canal leading up to the plant one week ago.
Since then, authorities have been trying to locate his red 1993 Chrysler Concorde, which is also believed to be somewhere in the canal. Divers and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission conducted numerous searches for the car last week, but the car was not located.
The search will resume today when searchers will focus their efforts on a different area of the canal, near the Sutherland Inlet campground.
On Tuesday, an autopsy was conducted on Kubiak’s body, and preliminary results indicate the Kubiak died from asphyxiation due to drowning. Chief Deputy Roland Kramer said Kubiak also had injuries that were consistent with being involved in an automobile accident.
Officials are asking for help in locating Kubiak’s vehicle, which has Nebraska license plates, 15-Z720.
Contact local law enforcement of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office with any information.