LILESVILLE — Emergency officials who were investigating a reported drowning near the Blewett Falls boat landing recovered the body of a swimmer late Tuesday, according to Rodney Diggs, director of Anson County emergency services.
Diggs said the call came in around 4:50 p.m. and the body was recovered just before 6 p.m.
“A couple of guys were swimming and just became overwhelmed and tired, and one of them went under,” he explained. “The other called for help.”
He said that two men encountered trouble in a place where it is legal to swim.
Anson County Deputy Jonathan Hough diverted cars from the area.
“They’re currently blocking all traffic to the entrance due to boats entering the lake,” he said.
The Anson County Sheriff’s Office, Anson County Emergency Management, Anson County Rescue Squad, Lilesvile Volunteer Fire Department and Richmond County’s Cordova Fire and Rescue responded to the call.
“We did not have a dive team coming,” Diggs said. “We have a diver who is a member of the Anson Rescue Squad. He helped accelerate the recovery. The victim’s friend told us where he went down, so the diver went down and found the body.”
This is the second drowning in the area this summer.
On June 12, Harold Calvin Reese, 64 — a Hamlet native then living in Laurinburg — drowned while swimming in the lake. He had only been swimming for about five minutes when he went into distress, according to Diggs.
“His wife said he jumped in the water and he was going to swim, but the current got strong and he started — he jumped off a pontoon — and he started struggling, so she threw a life jacket and he couldn’t get to it,” reported the person who made the call to 911.
Diggs said conditions at the site of Tuesday’s drowning were “normal,” and he did not believe there were any unusually strong currents involved.
“The sheriff’s office is doing their investigation into it as usual,” he said.
As of Tuesday evening, the victim’s name had not been released pending notification of his family.
Reach reporter Melonie McLaurin at 910-817-2673 and follow her on Twitter @meloniemclaurin.