Guatemala Lake Search for Laguna Hills Missionary Called Off : Drowning: Young Mormon is presumed dead along with two other men after wind capsizes their boat in frigid waters.

LAGUNA HILLS —  Authorities Monday called off their search for a Mormon missionary who is presumed dead after the boat in which he was a passenger capsized on a lake in Guatemala.

Adam Leach, 20, of Laguna Hills was in the boat with three others last Wednesday when a strong wind blew the craft over, throwing them into the frigid water.

Also presumed dead are another missionary, Brian Bartholomew, 20, of Modesto, and a Guatemalan man hired to take the men across the lake.

A third missionary, Erick Lee Caten of McMinnville, Tenn., managed to swim to shore and ultimately assist in the search, according to Don LeFevre, a spokesman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City.

The four had been returning to the town of Panajachel from the village of San Pedro la Laguna, 40 miles northwest of Guatemala City, after picking up birth certificates for a wedding, LeFevre said.

As they they were crossing Lake Atitlan, a strong wind, known to local residents as a chocomil, capsized their 14-foot wooden boat, Leach’s stepfather, Doug Custance, said. Custance, along with Randall Hayes, another relative, and Lloyd Castleton, a friend of the family, flew down Thursday to assist in the search. They returned Monday.

Custance said the boat capsized when a rare combination of winds, blowing from the north, east and west, converged in the late afternoon, creating a whirlpool-like effect on the lake’s surface and sudden, 4-foot waves.

“There’s no rhyme or reason to the winds,” he added.

Waves hit the boat’s starboard side, dumping all four into the water. The boat’s operator drowned immediately, but the three missionaries were able to cling to the capsized craft, Custance said.

After an hour and a half, the three decided to try to swim the 1 1/4 miles to shore. But after a few yards, Bartholomew got muscle cramps and decided to return to the boat. It was decided that Leach would swim back to the boat with Bartholomew and that Caten would continue on, Custance said.

Meanwhile, a man who Custance said was a coffee broker saw the overturned boat and also spotted Caten swimming to shore. The man got his own boat and rescued Caten. But by that time it was evening and already dark. They spotted the capsized boat, but nobody was clinging to it. Thinking that the two missionaries had made it to shore, the man took Caten to a nearby hotel to warm up.

Later that evening, when there still was no report that the two had returned, authorities were alerted and another search team was formed. They found the boat early Thursday morning, but no sign of Bartholomew or Leach.

Custance said he arrived Thursday and worked with the U.S. Embassy, Guatemalan military and local police and fire officials. They organized a helicopter search and handed out pamphlets to local villagers, hoping that the two had survived.

“We as a family were overwhelmed by the degree of cooperation we received,” Custance said. “Whatever we wanted to do, it got done.”

Leach was one of an estimated 40,000 Mormon missionaries worldwide. LeFevre said that many church members Leach’s age jump at the opportunity to do missionary work because of the experience.

For Leach, who left for Guatemala in early September, it was a chance to fulfill his faith and pursue a favorite interest of his, meeting people, especially those in foreign countries, said Ernie Ellsworth, a Laguna Hills attorney and the bishop of a local church ward in Laguna Niguel.

“It was just kind of his personal conviction that that was something that he needed to do,” Ellsworth said. “He had something that would be important to him.”

Leach’s mother, Linda Custance, said her son wrote to her and sent the family audio tapes in which he described his Guatemala experiences.

“It was an adjustment for him, being in a country where they spoke a different language,” she said. “But he loved the people. He loved the missionary work.”

Linda Custance described her son as anxious to learn about people. He had studied in Mexico for a summer during high school and had traveled to Europe.

“Adam was a great guy, a dynamic young man,” she said. “He was where he wanted to be, doing work for the heavenly father. He had a lot of support and love for people. He loved life.”

She said she last spoke to her son the day after Christmas. The family and the church had sent him a package containing candy bars and photos of his nieces, but she was not sure that he had received it.

Leach had gone to Brigham Young University for two years before he became a missionary. He had planned to go into law or international finance, possibly going back to the university when his work was completed in two years.

Leach apparently was interested in going to Guatemala, partly because of studying Spanish during high school.

“I remember he was full of vim and vigor,” said his Laguna Hills High School Spanish teacher, who didn’t want his name used. “He liked foreign countries. He liked to associate with the people there.”

Linda Custance spoke of her son’s humor. In early December, he wrote that he had been bitten by a dog.

“He wrote home saying that he wished he could say it was a Doberman or a pit bull, but no, it was one of those tippy, yippy dogs that looks like a rat,” she related.

In addition to his mother and stepfather, Leach is survived by his father, Larry Leach of Diamond Bar, a brother and two sisters.

A memorial service will be conducted at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Laguna Niguel Stake Center, 28291 Alicia Parkway.