The body of a missing boater was recovered from Watauga Lake on Thursday after a search began when his unoccupied sailboat was discovered ran aground on the shoreline on Wednesday morning.
The deceased boater has been identified as John Wrestler, 46, of Johnson City.
A witness located an unoccupied sailboat belonging to Mr. Wrestler Wednesday morning around 9:30 a.m. about 300 yards from Lakeshore Marina. The witness notified an employee at the marina who in turn contacted the TWRA dispatch. Wildlife Officer John Ripley responded to the scene and the investigation began.
After an extensive search, the Carter County Rescue Squad located the body of Mr. Wrestler around 11:30 a.m. near the site where the boat was found aground.
An autopsy has been ordered and the incident remains under a joint investigation by TWRA and the Carter County Sheriff’s Department.