Crews search Lake Rhodhiss for drowning victim

Credit: Rick Fox | The News Herald

N.C. Wildlife Officer Clint Bell prepares a boat Tuesday night to take divers to the scene of a possible drowning.

By: Cheryl m. Shuffler | Morganton News Herald
Published: February 18, 2009

Conflicting reports are emerging on the events that led up to a drowning on Lake Rhodhiss.
The body of the 25-year-old man who disappeared on the lake around 6 p.m. Tuesday has not been recovered.
N.C. Wildlife Master Officer Clint Bell said today from the scene that the victim and another man, also in his mid-20s, were fishing on the lake when their boat started taking on water.
The two, Bell said, headed back to shore near the access area on Weaver Lane. One man got out of the boat to get a truck and the other went back out into the water to turn around.
Bell said the second man didn't make it back to shore after the boat's motor quit. He called for help and jumped into the water.
The other man jumped in after his fishing partner, but couldn't reach him.
Bell said the boat did not sink. He said rescuers recovered it 30 yards from shore.
At the scene Tuesday night, Detective Austin Hensley with the Burke County Sheriff's Office recounted a different story. He the victim was trying to trade the boat for another man's motorcycle.
The parties involved were testing the boat after replacing the battery, Hensley said.
They got it out in the water and realized the boat was taking on water. They brought the boat back to the shore and the motorcycle owner got off.
The boat owner headed back out to continue testing the boat, Hensley said.
The man on the shore saw the boat begin to sink and the man on the boat yelled, "I can't swim," before going down, a witness told Hensley Tuesday night at the scene.
The search for the drowning victim resumed this morning, said Randy Price, director of Burke Emergency Services and chief operating officer on the scene.
Rescuers searched the lake for the man, whose name has not been released, until 4 a.m. today. Price said they called off the search because of heavy rain.
As the search resumed this morning, Price said rescuers were confident they have an idea where the victim's body may be.