Officials: Body found in NJ lake identified as missing Marine veteran

NEW JERSEY (WTXF) - Officials say a 29-year-old veteran reported missing in December has been found dead.

According to officials, canine units recovered the body 29-year-old Lance James in Clementon, New Jersey at Bottom Lake around 12 p.m. Friday.

Family members say James, from Clementon, was last seen being escorted out of the Hide-A-Way Tavern after an alternation with a fellow patron on Dec. 2.

State police reported he was last seen walking home, leaving his jacket and cell phone behind at the bar But they say he "did not return home that night, and he did not show up for work the next day, call out sick, or pick up his paycheck. No one has heard from him since December 2."

The New Jersey State Police marine unit and other agencies conducted a large-scale search. No word on a cause of death.

James served a year each in Iraq and Afghanistan before leaving the Marines in 2012.