Deer hunter went missing then his body was found in an SC lake, coroner says
A body was recovered in a South Carolina lake Monday, and it was identified as a missing man, according to the Oconee County Coroner’s Office.
Fifty-year-old Seneca resident Douglas John Olin Edmond Jr., aka DJ, was the man whose body was found in Lake Hartwell on Monday afternoon, Coroner Karl Addis said in a news release. The body was recovered in a cove near the Timberlake One subdivision, according to the release.
The coroner’s office called it a presumed drowning. An autopsy was performed and its findings were consistent with the cause of death as drowning, according to the coroner’s office.
No other injuries were reported.
The coroner’s office said it believed that Edmond died on the morning of Dec. 20. The coroner’s office believes Edmond was trying to cross a cove in a small boat to go deer hunting.
Information about how Edmond ended up in the lake was not available, and there was no word if the boat has been located.
However, on Dec. 20, a Ford pickup truck was found in the parking lot near the Timberlake One boat ramp, the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday. It was later identified as Edmond’s truck.
On Dec. 23, a deputy went back to the boat landing for a welfare check because the same pickup hadn’t moved, and it remained unoccupied, according to the sheriff’s office. The deputy learned that the pickup belonged to Edmond, but he wasn’t seen in the area and no one was located at his home, the sheriff’s office said.
On Sunday, deputies responded back to the Timberlake One boat ramp after speaking with a family member and Edmond’s neighbors, according to the sheriff’s office. Although deputies were told that it was not unusual for Edmond to be gone for a few days, they felt that too much time had passed for the recent situation to be considered normal, the sheriff’s office said. Additionally, his Ford pickup was still unoccupied in the parking lot, according to the sheriff’s office.
Edmond was officially reported missing by the sheriff’s office Sunday.
A search began that day, and it included members of the Oconee County Emergency Services, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the sheriff’s office marine unit, according to the sheriff’s office. The first day’s efforts did not result in the searchers finding Edmonds, the sheriff’s office said.
The search resumed Monday morning, with Edmond located in waters of Lake Hartwell at around 5:40 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office.
The body was found by S.C. DNR divers in a cove where the water was about 36 feet deep, the coroner’s office said. Edmond lived near where his body was recovered, according to the coroner’s office.
In addition to the coroner’s office, Edmond’s death continues to be investigated by the sheriff’s office and S.C. DNR.
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This story was originally published December 30, 2025 at 10:17 AM.
