A man has been arrested for murder in the first degree following the discovery of a Washington man’s body in a lake in northern Iowa. According to the Iowa Department of Public Safety, on July 22nd the Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Office received a call of a body in Virgin Lake near Ruthven. Officers found a body about 25-feet from shore and the Division of Criminal Investigation removed the body and transported it to the Iowa Medical Examiner’s Office. The body was identified as 27-year-old Rollin Bontrager of Washington. An autopsy was performed and the report will be released when final testing is complete.

On July 31st, two search warrants were executed in Emmetsburg. Two residences and three vehicles were searched with numerous items seized for analysis.

At 8:40 p.m. Friday, law enforcement arrested 29-year-old Allan Michael Dean Schwidder of Emmetsburg for the class A felony charge of first-degree murder. He was taken to the Palo Alto County Jail where he’s being held on $1-million bond.

The investigation continues and anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact the Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Office at 712-852-3535. Agencies assisting with the investigation include the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Palo Alto County Coroner, Palo Alto County Conservation, Iowa Medical Examiner’s Office, the Emmet County and Clay County Sheriff’s Offices, Emmetsburg and Spencer Police Departments, and the Iowa DCI Crime Scene Unit.