Teenager’s body recovered after he disappeared under water in SC lake, coroner says
A teenager died in a South Carolina lake over the weekend, according to the Fairfield County Coroner’s Office.
Joel Joseph Martin, an 18-year-old Blair resident, was involved in a drowning on Lake Monticello, Coroner Chris Hill said in a news release. Lake Monticello is adjacent to the Broad River, about 35 minutes from downtown Columbia, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
On Saturday, Martin was swimming in the lake when he went under water and did not resurface, according to the release.
Emergency crews and dive teams were called to the lake and Martin’s body was recovered, Hill said.
No other injuries were reported.
Information about the distance from where Martin was last seen to where his body was recovered was not available. There was no word about the depth of water in the lake where the body was found.
The coroner’s office has not announced Martin’s cause of death, but said an autopsy has been scheduled. The death continues to be investigated by the coroner’s office and SCDNR.
Lake Monticello covers 6,700 acres, has 54 miles of shoreline and has a maximum depth of about 89 feet, according to SCDNR.
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