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SC boater lost in river; search resumes

A man slipped off a boat and never resurfaced

By Dave Munday
The Post and Courier

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. — An outing on the Wando River turned tragic Sunday when a man slipped off a boat and never resurfaced.

He has not been publicly identified.

Rescue workers looked for the man for about three hours and gave up when it got dark. The search is set to resume this morning.

Berkeley County Deputy Coroner Bill Salisbury arrived later in the evening to talk with the family. He said several adults and children were swimming off a boat in the water near the S.C. Highway 41 bridge about 5:15 p.m. A man climbed back on the boat after swimming and was sitting on the side when he fell into the water. The others jumped into the water to try to find him but could not.

At least a dozen rescue units filled the parking lot by the boat landing near the bridge. They included the Berkeley County Rescue Squad, Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team, Berkeley County EMS, Charleston County Marine Metro Unit, Charleston County Rescue Squad, Charleston County Fire & Rescue, Charleston County EMS and the Department of Natural Resources.

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