Man Arrested After False Report of Drowning
In Oconee County, SC authorities have arrested a man after a false report of a drowning on Lake Keowee.
About 4:30p Saturday afternoon, the Oconee County 911 Center received a call reporting a drowning on Lake Keowee.
The caller was only able to provide limited information, but said his friend had jumped into the water from a boat and had not resurfaced.
According to Oconee County Fire Chief Charlie King, about 40 emergency personnel from Oconee and Pickens County worked together until about 9p Saturday night to find the man who had reportedly drown, conducting sonar- based searches in wide area from Fall Creek Landing down to Keowee Town Landing.
Later, when authorities went to the caller’s home, they found the driver of the boat and the missing man.
The unidentified man told authorities the pair had been drinking.
He said he swam to shore then got a ride to his house after their boat broke down, but could not remember the events that took place earlier.
The driver of the boat has now been arrested and taken to jail.