Charleston

Search for missing boater ends as body is recovered from SC lake, coroner says

The search for a missing boater ended Sunday when his body was recovered in a South Carolina lake, according to the Berkeley County Coroner’s Office.

Gerry Wayne Brazel, a 63-year-old Summerville resident, was found in Lake Moultrie, Coroner Darnell Hartwell said.

Brazel’s body was discovered by the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol who were involved with the search along with divers from the sheriff’s office as well as members of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Brazel went missing Saturday, according to the sheriff’s office.

An investigation began Sunday morning after “a concerned citizen located a dog and personal belongings at Lion’s Beach in Moncks Corner,” the sheriff’s office said.

Brazel was recovered at about 3 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office. There was no word if a boat was ever found.

No other injuries were reported.

Information where Brazel’s body was recovered was not available, and there was no word about the depth of water in the lake where the body was found.

The coroner’s office has not announced Brazel’s cause of death, but it continues to investigate the incident along with the Moncks Corner Police Department and SCDNR.

Lake Moultrie covers 60,400 acres, has 210 miles of shoreline and has a maximum depth of about 75 feet, according to SCDNR.

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Noah Feit
The State
Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription
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