[Shera]

I realize this thread is from almost 3 years ago but I am the stepmother-in-law and there are so many guesses in this thread that are way off base and it just doesn't seem like that long ago to us.
Ben was at a bachelor party and there were several cars they used to transport people from the rented house to the lake so it was not strange that his friends just thought he was in a different car. This is why no one noticed him missing other than his wife who was in a full-blown panic because he was not answering phone calls or texts.
Ben's autopsy showed NO drugs or alcohol in his system. It did show that he had an enlarged heart and distorted aorta which caused him to faint. Had he not been in 3 feet of water,o r had someone seen him go under, he probably could have been treated for his conditions. He was an active, fit man who'd shown no signs of issues before. No one happened to be looking when he fainted. He had a 2 year old daughter (now 5) who is aware she had an amazing Dad.
He was not drunk & he was not on drugs, and his friends were not awful for mistakenly leaving him behind.