Man’s body recovered from pond at golf club in the Midlands, fire department says

The search for a missing man ended when his body was found underwater near an overturned golf cart, the Sumter Fire Department said Thursday.

The man was working on a renovation project at the Quixote Club — formerly the Sunset Country Club — fire department Division Chief Joey Duggan told The State. That’s about a mile from Sumter High School.

The man was a subcontractor performing maintenance at the country club, according to Duggan. The Sumter County Coroner’s Office late Thursday identified the man as 40-year-old Anastaeio Balerio Garcia.

He had not been seen for a while Wednesday when some of his personal belongings were found on a cart path near a pond at the club, Duggan said. A bridge is part of the cart path in that section of the course, according to Duggan.

It was about 5 p.m. when firefighters responded to a missing person call and a dive team began searching the pond, according to Duggan.

After a 45 minute search in water that was 10-15 feet deep, the flipped over golf cart was discovered, Duggan said. It was shortly after that when the man’s body was recovered by divers.

Drowning, or another cause of death has not been determined by the coroner’s office, which is leading the investigation. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday, Deputy Coroner Bryan Rogers told The State.

The death appears to be accidental, according to Rogers. Foul play is not suspected, Duggan said.

No other injuries were reported.

Duggan said he could not recall any similar past incidents at the golf club.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

This story was originally published June 10, 2021 at 2:03 PM.

Noah Feit

The State

803-771-8435

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