WBTW

Missing boater ID’d after body recovered from Darlington County lake

HARTSVILLE, SC (WBTW) – Tuesday afternoon rescue crews located the body of the man who fell in the water and did not resurface at Easterling Landing on Lake Robinson.

Sheriff Wayne Byrd says the call came that the 22-year-old man was missing on Monday around 4:30 p.m. Officials are not sure what caused him to fall in, but think he could possibly have been struck by a boat.

Darlington County Coroner Todd Hardee identifies the victim as Dane Christian Watford. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday in Newberry.

Byrd said rescue and dive crews resumed the search for the missing boater at 7 a.m. Tuesday.

Byrd says rescue crews from Hartsville, Chesterfield County, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources were involved in the search alongside the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office.