Body found in Lake Murray identified as Lexington County man, coroner says
A body found in Lake Murray this weekend was identified as a Lexington County man, the Saluda County Coroner’s Office said Sunday.
On Saturday afternoon, a passing boater saw Daniel G. Watts near his capsized kayak, Deputy Coroner Angie Rita said in a news release.
The 79-year-old’s body was found on the shoreline of Lake Murray near Black’s Bridge in Saluda County, according to the release. That’s where the Saluda River passes under S.C. 391.
A cause of death has not been determined, but an autopsy is scheduled for this week, Rita said. In addition to the coroner’s office, the death is being investigated by the Saluda County Sheriff’s Office and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
The coroner’s office said it “extends its deepest sympathies” to Watts’ family.
This is not the only death reported on Lake Murray in 2020.
In July, one person was killed when a tree fell on a boat in the Lexington County portion of Lake Murray, The State previously reported.
The driver of a pontoon boat was preparing to dock when the engine cut off, DNR officials said. While the driver tried to restart the engine, the boat drifted into a dead tree on the edge of the lake, which broke off and fell on a passenger.
Also in July, a Columbia man died at Lake Murray in a suspected drowning, according to DNR.
Two men were in a 14-foot Jon boat when it hit the wake of another boat, got swamped and started taking on water, The State reported. As the boat sank, both of the men went into the lake, but only one survived, according to DNR.
In May, an Irmo man died of a “medical event,” he suffered after launching a boat, according to the Lexington County Coroner’s Office.
Prior to that in February, the body of a Columbia man who had gone camping with friends in the Newberry County portion of Lake Murray was found in the water near the campsite a day after he disappeared, according to the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office.
He and friends entered a closed portion of the lake near Dreher Island Park and set up tents to camp at the site, according to the sheriff’s office. Divers found the body where the water is about nine feet deep.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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This story was originally published November 22, 2020 at 9:01 AM.
