Rescuers recovered the body of a missing Anderson County boater in Norris Lake on Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (Photo by TWRA)
Information from WYSH Radio/Oak Ridge Today
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has identified the man who drowned on Norris Lake on Monday as Roy McClenney Jr., 71, of Norris.
McClenney’s body was recovered from 46 feet of water at around 6:40 p.m. Monday.
The TWRA said they were called shortly after noon when the man jumped off of a pontoon boat anchored in a cove near Sugar Camp Lane in Maynardville in Union County and never resurfaced.
Rescue crews from Union County and Knoxville joined TWRA in the search for the man, who was located with help from a remote operated vehicle, or ROV. TWRA officers located the man’s body, and divers from the Knoxville Rescue Squad made the recovery.
Since acquiring the unit a few years ago, approximately 27 boating incident victims have been recovered by use of the ROV, according to the TWRA.
The TWRA recommends those on the water use life jackets.
“Take a look at nationwide boating statistics from 2015,” the TWRA said in July. “The U.S. Coast Guard reports that out of 428 drownings that occurred last year, 352 of the victims were not wearing a life jacket. Thankfully, out of the 428 drownings, only 12 of them were ages 0-12. The remaining 416 drownings were ages 13 and older further, indicating that life jackets can and will save lives if worn properly.”
In Tennessee and in most other states, children ages 12 and under are required by law to wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket while on the open deck of a recreational boat except while anchored, moored, or aground, the TWRA said.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
WYSH Radio in Clinton is an Oak Ridge Today news partner.
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