A man from Maryville drowned after falling overboard from a moving houseboat on Tellico Lake near the dam. The victim was the vessel’s only occupant.
A call came in to Loudon Co. E-911 at 7:42 p.m. reporting that a man was riding near the bow of a houseboat when he fell overboard near the port bow.
The vessel continued and ran aground on some rocks until the power was shut-off by a witness who was walking near the shoreline.
The witness reports that the victim, whose name is being held until positive identification can be made, began swimming towards the shore when he went under the water and never resurfaced.
Members of the Loudon County Dive/Rescue Squad recovered the victim about 40 yards off the shoreline at approximately 9:25 p.m.
Loudon County Wildlife Officer Anthony Chitwood reports that a cable-type railing surrounding the boat was loose near the bow.
District 42 Lt. Andy Collins said that the vessel is being inventoried and that an autopsy is pending.