I was there....In-laws made it out of the plane before it sank- basically un-injured.. I was there (from my remote Interior Alaska cabin) 3 or 4 days later when they pulled the plane up on the ramp. FAA guy cracked the cowling, looked at the oil plug, and said "That's it, then".
Apparently free-floating bodies in cold water don't bloat well and are harder to recover than a metal aircraft.
I was assuming that not all the people would still be in the aircraft. No problem with recovery if they are.
As the old saying goes Lake Superior never gives up her dead. The water is so cold year around that bodies don't fill up with gas and float after being in the water for a few days. They just sink to the bottom. I imagine the same is true in your case. Sorry for your loss.
