Search for Isenberg enters second week

The search for Larry Isenberg on Lake Coeur d’Alene is expected to resume today after the sonar efforts were delayed due to choppy water and the frigid weather icing up equipment.

The 68-year-old Kootenai County man has been missing since Feb. 13 when he reportedly fell into the lake while attempting to repair a problem with one of the motors on the boat he and wife Lori were in.

The search has been in the area of Powderhorn Bay and East Point in the southeast portion of the lake.

Isenberg, a forest-industry veteran, is a former project manager for Fire Smart, a program offered by Kootenai County’s Office of Emergency Management that helps property owners protect their homes and businesses from wildfire.

The Idaho Land Conservation Assistance Network, a nationwide directory of conservation resources, lists Isenberg as a land, prescribed burning and forestry consultant on its website.

Isenberg’s disappearance came just hours after The Press reported that Lori was no longer employed as director at the nonprofit North Idaho Housing Coalition after nearly a decade and an internal audit of the organization was underway.

Coeur d’Alene-based NIHC is an Idaho Housing Finance Association-approved nonprofit dedicated to increasing access to affordable homes for low- to moderate-income individuals and families and assisting qualified buyers to buy a home.

Kootenai County Sheriff Ben Wolfinger said his agency remains focused solely on the search for Larry as that situation involving the Isenbergs is the only part that is in its jurisdiction. He said the NIHC situation doesn’t appear to even be considered a law enforcement case yet.

"Until evidence points (law enforcement) elsewhere, we’re focusing on what appears to be a tragic drowning," he said, adding that agencies focus on hard evidence, not speculation.