Mystery of missing Lake Murray boater could involve alcohol

The account a preschooler gave investigators of her father’s disappearance into the waters of Lake Murray is consistent with the former Columbia firefighter slipping and falling overboard, authorities said Thursday in what is an alcohol-related investigation.

Investigators found five empty beer cans on board Durham DeLaura’s 15-foot boat, and six cans remained in a cooler, said Robert McCullough, spokesman for the Department of Natural Resources, which investigates boating accidents.

DeLaura’s 4-year-old daughter was found alone in the boat when it drifted to shore near Panorama Point. Investigators estimate she was on the boat by herself about 45 minutes to an hour after the father disappeared under the water’s surface, McCullough said Thursday.

The child was not wearing a life jacket, though one was in the boat, McCullough said.

“Yes, alcohol is involved,” McCullough said, adding that investigators don’t yet know how long before the 35-year-old went overboard the beer was consumed. So it’s unclear if alcohol is directly related to him slipping.

Part of the investigation is determining whether the physically fit professional rescuer might have hit his head as he fell, the spokesman said. But that won’t be settled until the body is located.

A boat and air search has been underway since shortly after the child was found Friday evening. Using sonar devices to find DeLaura in depths that reach 100 feet or more ended about Tuesday, McCullough said earlier in the week.

Authorities will continue looking by boat and air until DeLaura is found. It could take weeks for the body to surface because of the water’s depth, the spokesman said.

McCullough declined to be detailed about what the child has told investigators. She has been with her mother.

At least one witness has said DeLaura and his daughter were seen earlier that day at Sandy Beach, which is on Bundrick Island along the lake’s southwestern shore and not far from Panorama Point, the spokesman said. Someone saw the child playing in the sand.

DeLaura loved being a firefighter and his boat, friends and former colleagues have said. He enjoyed taking the boat to the lake.

“He didn’t want to be a firefighter, he wanted to be the best one,” Irmo fire chief Mike Sonefeld said earlier this week. Irmo fire marshal Brian Haley recalls a DeLaura who “was physically fit. He was prepared,” Haley said. “I guess it just goes to show you (that) an accident could happen to anybody.”

DeLaura was an Irmo fire department volunteer, then was hired in 2001. He stayed at the department until early 2004.

He joined the Columbia Fire Department in December 2006 and remained there for almost 10 years, fire chief Aubrey Jenkins said. “He was an excellent firefighter,” Jenkins said. DeLaura rose in rank to become an engineer, which means he drove a fire truck as well as handled rescues.

He was awarded medals for valor and bravery for his work in life-saving rescues during his years as a Columbia firefighter, the agency said in a statement. DeLaura left in mid-June last year.

“The CFD family continues to offer our thoughts and prayers to Durham’s family and friends,” Jenkins said in the statement issued Wednesday night.

This story was originally published August 31, 2017 at 7:05 PM with the headline "Mystery of missing Lake Murray boater could involve alcohol."