Swimmer started ‘thrashing’ in swamp water before he went under, Georgia coroner says
A man was swimming in a swamp when he started “thrashing” and went under, Georgia officials said.
Jamaal Warwell never resurfaced, and his body was pulled from the water on Sunday afternoon, the Richmond County Coroner’s Office said in a news release.
Officials said the 31-year-old had been participating in orienteering, the practice of using compasses and maps to see who can reach a place first. His group of about 20 people met on Saturday to compete in Phinizy Swamp, south of downtown Augusta and near the South Carolina border, said Sgt. Brian Hobbins with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
“Warwell had been running and hiking in the area with friends” until more than one mile into the trip, officials said. That’s when the group had the option of wading through mud or swimming across a pond, according to Hobbins.
Warwell decided to swim but began to have trouble in the water, which was 10 feet deep or more in some areas, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
“There were a couple folks that tried to get to him, but couldn’t get to him before he went down,” Hobbins told The Augusta Chronicle. “They did try to dive down and get to him, but there’s about 10, 15 feet of water and they weren’t able to reach him.”
The pond used to be a quarry and has a steep drop-off that can catch swimmers by surprise, WRDW reported. The area — usually a place for fishing and hunting — is home to alligators and other wildlife, officials said.
“It’s all knee- to waist-deep mud, swamp grass, cattails, that type of thing,” Hobbins said.
After crews searched Phinizy Swamp, Warwell’s body was recovered Sunday afternoon and taken to a morgue. The Richmond County Coroner’s Office said it was investigating the drowning as of Sunday night.
An autopsy was scheduled for Monday, the office said in its news release.
The incident was originally reported as a missing kayaker, but officials said there were no kayaks involved.
This story was originally published August 9, 2021 at 10:08 AM with the headline "Swimmer started ‘thrashing’ in swamp water before he went under, Georgia coroner says."
