Columbia man who died in Lake Murray identified by Lexington County Coroner
One man died in Lake Murray Monday, one of six recent water deaths the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources said it is investigating.
The Lake Murray incident was called a drowning by Capt. Robert McCullough in a Tuesday interview with The State.
The man who died in the suspected drowning was identified as Clint Alexander Brown, Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher said in a news release. The 38-year-old Columbia resident died at the scene, according to Fisher.
At about 3 p.m., DNR officers responded to a call about a missing boater near Willow Cove Road in Chapin, according to McCullough.
Two men were in a 14-foot Jon boat when it hit the wake of another boat, got swamped and started taking on water, McCullough said. As the boat sank, both of the men went into the lake, but only one survived, according to McCullough.
One boater became fatigued and drowned, while the other man was rescued by another boater in the area, DNR officials said on Twitter. Fisher said that boater was not injured, and McCullough said he was doing fine.
Brown’s body was recovered that afternoon in the area where he went under, McCullough said.
Neither Brown nor the other boater were wearing life jackets, Fisher said.
McCullough did not know the depth of the water in the area where the body was found, but said it was not one of the deeper areas in the lake.
The death is being investigated by DNR.
Other deaths being investigated by DNR occurred on the Cooper River, Lake Keowee, Lake Cheraw, Edisto River, and Lake Marion.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time, and very seldom have I seen weekends with so many drownings,” McCullough said.
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This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 10:55 AM.
