LILESVILLE —The body of Scotland County man was recovered Monday night after he went missing while swimming at Blewett Falls.
Authorities have not released the name of the 64-year-old man who had been with his family Sunday on a pontoon boat when he left the boat to swim. The man’s family called 911 when the man went under the water at about 5 p.m., according to Lt. Brian Tice with the Anson County Sheriff’s Office.
The body was found shortly after 8:30 p.m. Monday.
Anson County Emergency Services Director Rodney Diggs said the body was sent to Carolinas HealthCare System Anson Hospital in Wadesboro where the identity can be confirmed.
Rockingham Fire Chief Harold Isler sent the city’s rescue boat, along with himself and three other people, to help drag the river Sunday night.
“We drug the river until about ten,” said Isler. “We didn’t send anything (Monday), but I did go out there to see if there was any progress.”
Lee County and Charlotte fire and rescue personnel arrived at the lake Monday morning with sonar boats and CFD’s dive team, but Anson County Emergency Services Director Rodney Diggs said the search was complicated by conflicting reports of where the man went missing.
According to Diggs, the lake is about 40 feet deep in the center, but he believes the area where the man went under to be about 15 to 20 feet deep. Blewett Falls Lake is a reservoir located between Anson and Richmond counties. Named after an early local family, the lake was created for hydro-power in the early 20th century.
Diggs said he did not expect the current to carry the body far from the site where he went under.
Anson County Emergency Management and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission headed up the search. They were assisted by Ellerbe Fire and Rescue, Cordova Fire and Rescue, Lilesville Fire Department, Anson County Sheriff’s Office, Anson EMS, Anson Rescue Squad, North Carolina Emergency Management, Anson County Emergency Management, Hamlet Fire and Rescue and the Rockingham Fire Department.
