Body of Missing Pilot Found in Lake Palestine

LAKE PALESTINE (AP/Staff) – Authorities have found the body of a pilot missing after his plane was found in Lake Palestine this week. Capt. Gary Dugan, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game warden, says the body of 85-year-old Fred Scholz was found Saturday morning on the rocks of the Lake Palestine Dam. Friends tell KETK Scholz was from Iowa and had a part-time residence in the Frankston area. He was reported missing Wednesday after taking off earlier in the day in his single-engine plane from a Jacksonville fueling station. Dive crews found the plane in Lake Palestine on Thursday morning. Department of Public Safety Trooper Lynn Hubert has said all indications are the pilot landed the plane in the water without severely damaging the aircraft and was able to open the window. Dugan says the body has been sent for an autopsy.