Rankin County authorities confirm a teenage boy drowned Sunday morning near Tommy’s Trading Post north of Highway 43.
Rankin County Coroner David Ruth said he was called at 7:33 a.m. to respond to Tommy’s Trading Post to recover a victim of an apparent drowning.
Nathaniel Griffith, 17, died after falling from a boat while fishing with friends, Reservoir Police Chief Trevell Dixon said.
The incident occurred in the area north of 43, which is technically the Pearl River, Reservoir Police Chief Trevell Dixon said. He said it is still under investigation.
According to Rankin EOC Director Mike Word, the three teenagers were fishing when Griffith appeared to have had some type of medical emergency and fell overboard.
Word said the others jumped in to try and save him but the water was to deep. They immediately called 911, and flagged down another boat.
The teens were able to get an accurate GPS location and marked it for searchers, Word said.
Once responders arrived at the incident location, the victim was quickly located on sonar by Dive Team Leader Brett Ishee and a diver was put in the water to recover him.
“This is a very tragic incident at anytime with anyone, but when they are young it emphasizes just how precious life really is, and how fast it can fade away,” Word said.
Rankin County Emergency Operations and Sheriff’s Department, Reservoir police and fire departments, and Lake Harbor Fire Department all worked the call.
