
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, March 20, 1995                   TAG: 9503200073
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: STEPHEN FOSTER
DATELINE: RADFORD                                 LENGTH: Short

WYTHE MAN, 28, BELIEVED DROWNED

A Wythe County man apparently drowned Sunday after he fell off a boat into the New River and his friends' efforts to rescue him with a rope failed.

Sgt. A.R. Webb of the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office said the 28-year-old man - who was not identified - was fishing with two other men when he fell off their boat. His friends tried to toss a rope to him to save him, but the victim went beneath the surface and wasn't seen again.

The accident occurred about 3 p.m. near the Pulaski-Montgomery County line just below where the Little River empties into the New River.

Divers tried unsuccessfully to find a body. They were hampered by poor visibility and a river bottom full of logs, rocks and trash, said Radford Fire Chief Martin Roberts.

The search was called off around 5:30 p.m. as night approached and Appalachian Power Co. prepared to release water from the Claytor Lake Dam upstream. The search was to resume today at 8 a.m.

The accident occurred about 60 to 75 feet offshore, in water 10 feet deep or less, Webb said. He said no charges were planned. A game warden involved in the investigation could not be reached Sunday night.

Keywords:
FATALITY

by CNB