WINNSBORO (June 22, 2016) – The body of a Lancaster man who vanished beneath the surface of Lake Wateree Monday afternoon was recovered Monday evening by the Fairfield County Dive Team.
Fairfield County Coroner Barkley Ramsey said Keevane Anthony, 28, of 1552 Green Peach Road, Lancaster, was at Lake Wateree State Park at 743 State Park Road, Winnsboro, with a cousin and friends Monday when, just before 4 p.m., Anthony and the others dove from a dock and into 10-feet of water. Anthony, Ramsey said, could not swim, but the men thought the water was shallow enough to stand upright in.
Ramsey said Anthony’s cousin tried to pull the victim to safety, but Anthony, fighting for his life, nearly pulled his cousin down with him. After a struggle, Anthony went under, Ramsey said, and did not resurface.
In addition to the Fairfield County Dive Team, the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Natural Resources and the Dutchman Creek Fire Department also responded to the scene. The Newberry County Dive Team also arrived just before Anthony’s body was pulled from the lake at 5:32 p.m., approximately 6-feet from the dock from which he had jumped.
Anthony was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ramsey said that while alcohol does not appear to have been a factor in the drowning, a toxicology test was scheduled for later this week.
