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Body recovered from lake at Scottsdale park

A man's body was recovered from a small lake at Vista Del Camino Park in Scottsdale on Wednesday.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A man's body was pulled out of a small lake at Vista Del Camino Park on Wednesday.

Scottsdale police and firefighters were dispatched to the park, located near Hayden and McKellips roads, for reports of a man who had gone into the water and not resurfaced. A man jumped into the lake to help but was unable to pull the other man out.

Officials later recovered the man's body and he was declared deceased at the scene. He has been identified as 64-year-old Robert Botthof.

It's not clear how or why the man first went into the lake.

This is a developing story that will be updated as information becomes available.

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What is the Valley?:

“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest. 

The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:

  • Mesa
  • Chandler
  • Scottsdale
  • Tempe
  • Glendale
  • Surprise
  • Peoria
  • Gilbert
  • El Mirage
  • Avondale
  • Litchfield Park
  • Goodyear
  • Buckeye

Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.

The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.

How big is Maricopa County?

Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.

The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).

One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.

The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.

The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.

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