The body of a Chester man who drowned in Lake Monticello Saturday afternoon was recovered by dive teams more than seven hours after he vanished from the surface of the lake.
According to Barkley Ramsey, Fairfield County Coroner, 24-year-old Jonathan Andrew Kornegay, of 547 W. White St. in Chester, had been swimming in the designated swimming area at the Lake Monticello Recreation Park off Meadow Lake Drive with friends when he swam out beyond the roped-off area and went under, just before 1 p.m., without resurfacing. Several dive teams, including divers from Horry and Lexington counties, happened to be in the area conducting training exercises, Ramsey said, and within 20 minutes more than 16 divers were on the scene searching the waters. The Department of Natural Resources, as well as the Fairfield County rescue squad, fire department and Sheriff’s Office also responded to the scene and assisted in the search.
Ramsey said Kornegay was found around 8 p.m. in approximately 5- to 10-feet of water, his feet tangled in a cluster of weeds at the bottom.
A toxicology report is pending, Ramsey said.
