Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Search underway for Douglas lake drowning victim
At last report, authorities were continuing their search for a 76 year-old Dandridge man who reportedly drowned in Douglas Lake in Jefferson County on Tuesday. Jefferson County Rescue squadsmen and Dandridge Fire volunteers are being assisted by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. TWRA spokesperson Matt Cameron said a remote operated underwater vehicle equipped with a sonar unit is being used in the search for the victim who has not been identified. Jefferson County Sheriff G.W. "Bud" McCoig said the incident near Henderson Island, was reported at 11:32 a.m. Tuesday. The sheriff said he responded to the scene in a boat, and he determined the 76 year-old man had jumped into the water from a pontoon boat to help children who were in the water swimming. "The wind had come up and the boat was floating away from the kids, and he jumped into the water to help the kids get back to the boat. He was not wearing a life jacket but all three of the kids were wearing life jackets, and he went under," the sheriff said. Authorities suspended the recovery operation Tuesday evening when a storm moved through the area, but operations were resumed this morning. Sheriff McCoig declined to release the name of the victim, saying he has relatives out of state who have not yet been contacted.


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