The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Tuesday, January 01, 2019 03:03 PM
Virginia Man's Body Discovered In Douglas Lake Says TWRA
The Jefferson County Dispatch first responded to a possible drowning July 4 on Douglas Lake in the Indian Creek area.
On Saturday, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency spokesman Matt Cameron said the body of 24-year-old Hector Guillermo Mercado Perez was recovered around 7:30 p.m. Cameron said a TWRA investigator found his body using a remote operated vehicle, and a diver with the Jefferson County Rescue Squad dove to retrieve it.
Cameron said the GPS coordinates from a video shot on the boat just before the drowning occurred gave investigators a location, and Perez's body was found within 150 feet of that spot.
The inital call about the incident came in at 3:30 p.m., dispatch said. Crews with the TWRA and the Jefferson County Rescue Squad responded to the call.
Cameron said Perez, of Norton, Virginia, jumped into the lake from a maroon pontoon boat in the Point 12 area of Mallard Way and Ponderosa Drive. Witnesses on board the boat said that he swam away from the boat several feet and began to struggle. An individual on the boat jumped in to help the 24-year-old man, but struggled and had to exit the water. The man who tried the rescue attempt was treated for "some medical issues" but TWRA reported he is expected to be OK.
The rescue squad searched for the victim throughout Wednesday evening in about 60 feet deep water. The agency said it was conducting dragging operations in the Breezie Point Community.
The spokesperson said that four members of the United States Coast Guard responded to the incident, too, but left. Crews from the Grainger County Rescue Squad and the Cocke County Rescue Squad assisted with the Hawkins County Rescue Squad responding on Thursday.
At 8:20 p.m.Wednesday, TWRA reported that the Perez had not been found yet, and that a boating accident investigator was bringing a remote operated vehicle (ROV) to the scene to assist in the search. At around 9:20 p.m., TWRA reported that rescue crews had suspended the search.
The boating accident investigator deployed the ROV and continued searching overnight; however, as of 6:40 p.m. on Thursday, TWRA said that there had been no developments in the search except that it was ongoing.
On Friday, TWRA announced that witnesses were brought back to the scene to pinpoint a better location. A cadaver dog was brought in as well, and it alerted to a spot within the initial search area; however, as of 1 p.m., the search was ongoing
