Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 23, 1995 TAG: 9506230054
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Like many other graduate students in Virginia Tech's entomology department, Byron T. Dowell started off Wednesday morning in the lab.
The 24-year-old drowning victim conducted a few experiments, then left in the early afternoon to enjoy the warm weather and cool water of the New River near Parrott in Pulaski County.
His tackle box was in his car; the area was known for its smallmouth bass.
But what started off as a day of fun with his wife ended in tragedy at 1:45 p.m. when Dowell got into water over his head.
Police said he struggled to swim out, but grew tired. The hiking boots he wore probably hindered his efforts. Karen, his wife of less than a year, tried unsuccessfully to pull Dowell to safety.
Rescue divers finally pulled Dowell's body from the river at 3 p.m.
Richard Fell, one of Dowell's professors, expressed how hard the news of his student's death hit the close-knit department of entomology, the study of insects.
``He was one of those guys that everyone likes,'' Fell said. ``He'll be missed tremendously. He had a lot of promise.''
Fell described Dowell as a hard worker with a good sense of humor who was well-liked and easygoing.
Dowell loved the outdoors, and he especially liked fishing, Fell said.
Chris Fettig, one of Dowell's fellow graduate students, was one of his frequent hunting and fishing companions. The two had been many times to the spot where Dowell drowned.
``That's the irony of the whole thing,'' Fettig said. ``I knew that stretch of the river well.''
Dowell, who was raised in Mount Zion, W.Va., spent so much time in the outdoors that Fettig jokingly advised him to start spending more time with his new wife and less on hunting and fishing.
Fettig met Dowell two years ago when they started working on their master's degrees.
``He was a great fellow, a real hard worker, and real supportive of his friends. Right now we're all in shock,'' Fettig said. ``He was almost better than a brother to me.''
Fell expected Dowell to finish his degree this summer. The two had been researching the eating habits of carpenter ants. Dowell's plans were uncertain, but Fell said his student had mentioned pursuing a doctorate or finding a job in the private sector.
Dowell is not the first person to drown in the river this year. Thursday, Pulaski County Sheriff Ralph Dobbins addressed its dangers.
``People have swum in this river for 100 years, but it's also been drowning people for 100 years,'' Dobbins said. ``I grew up around here, and I respectO it and I know what it's capable of doing.''
Most people get into trouble in the river because they aren't wearing proper safety equipment, such as a life jacket, he said. There's also a false sense of security because in some places the river seems shallow.
However, Dobbins said, a person can easily be in ankle-deep water one minute and 12 feet of water the next. It's difficult to swim against the often-swift current.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB