White Pine, TN (WOKI) – Officials have identified the victim in a deadly boating incident on Douglas Lake as 70-year-old Gary Allan Williams of White Pine.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency says the incident happened Thursday morning, May 14. Around 10:56 a.m., dispatchers received a report of an unoccupied boat drifting near the Rankin area, across from the Leadvale Access Area. The caller noted fishing gear was still inside the vessel, but no one was on board.
TWRA game wardens and first responders arrived, secured the boat, and began searching the surrounding water. Investigators later located Williams’ body in approximately eight feet of water using a remote-operated vehicle. Divers with the Jefferson County Rescue Squad recovered the body later that afternoon.
Authorities say Williams was not wearing a life jacket at the time.
An autopsy has been ordered, and the investigation remains ongoing.
This marks the ninth boating fatality in Tennessee this year. TWRA is reminding boaters and anglers to always wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket while on the water.
