Diver search ends in tragedy on Lake Wylie ahead of Memorial Day weekend

A missing person was recovered from Lake Wylie on Tuesday morning after a search by York County deputies and state divers, the York County Sheriff’s Office said.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is investigating the incident, and the York County Coroner’s Office is notifying the next of kin. Authorities have not released the name or age of the person recovered.

The death comes days before the start of Memorial Day weekend, traditionally the busiest stretch of the year on Lake Wylie, and prompted an explicit warning from the Sheriff’s Office urging boaters and swimmers to wear life jackets on the water.

Search in dark water

The York County Sheriff’s Office reported at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday that deputies and South Carolina Department of Natural Resources divers were in the water searching for the missing person. According to the agency, divers were relying on sonar imaging to navigate because Lake Wylie is pitch black at 35 feet deep, limiting visibility for the dive team.

By 11:25 a.m., the Sheriff’s Office confirmed that divers had recovered the missing person and that the search had ended.

The Sheriff’s Office did not release the location on the lake where the person was recovered, the circumstances that led to the search, or whether the person had been boating, swimming, or otherwise in the water at the time. Those details are expected to come from the Department of Natural Resources investigation and the Coroner’s Office.

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A warning ahead of the holiday weekend

In its update announcing the recovery, the Sheriff’s Office tied the death directly to the start of the summer boating season.

“This tragedy should be a reminder to boaters as we go into the Memorial Day weekend and summer boating season to take safety seriously and wear a life jacket when in the water,” the agency said in its post.

Lake Wylie sits on the border of York County and Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, and draws heavy boat traffic from Tega Cay, Lake Wylie, Clover, and the Charlotte metro on summer weekends. South Carolina law requires children under 12 to wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket while on a boat that is underway, and requires at least one wearable life jacket of the correct size for every person on board any vessel.

Drownings on the lake have prompted repeated calls from local officials in recent years for boaters to wear life jackets rather than simply stow them, especially in deeper sections where cold water and limited visibility complicate any rescue.

What comes next

The Department of Natural Resources will lead the investigation into how the death occurred. The Coroner’s Office is responsible for confirming the cause and manner of death and for releasing the identity of the deceased once the family has been notified.