Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officers and local agencies recovered the body of Roan County resident Braeden Hartup, 19, from Watts Bar Reservoir just after 2 a.m. on Sunday.
The initial 911 call concerning a male who had jumped from a boat and did not resurface, came in just after 9 p.m. on Saturday. Mr. Hartup and 10 others were on an anchored pontoon just south of Rockwood, near the Winton Chapel Access Area. Witnesses said that Mr. Hartup decided to swim and jumped into the water from the front of the boat. He was not wearing a life jacket.
TWRA officers and local agencies used a remote operated vehicle to locate and recover Mr. Hartup’s body in 24 feet of water. The body was transported to the Knox County Medical Examiner’s Office. This is the eighth boating related fatality this year. The incident remains under investigation.
Find boating and statistical information at tnwildlife.org