Scott County Sheriff Mike Lee said a boater drowned today after falling into the water while fishing.
The incident happened at Lower Head Dam in Scott County.
78-year-old William Lee Purvis was putting his boat into the water. The truck was still running and the doors were open when a Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks agent noticed that something was wrong as the boat had floated downstream.
“This was just a freak accident,” said Scott County Sheriff Mike Lee. “He’s probably been fishing out here hundreds if not thousands of times. Somehow getting into the water like he did, or the boat getting away from him, it’s just terrible when we see an accident like this.”
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Reservoir Police helped Scott County by using their new sonar equipment to locate the fisherman under water and the Rankin County Dive Team helped retrieve the body.
Lee called Purvis “a pillar of the community.”
“It’s hard to find answers at a time like this,” Lee said.
On the scene were the Scott County Sheriff’s Department, Reservoir Police Department, Rankin County EOC with their Dive Team, and Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks.
We will continue to keep you updated on this developing story.
