ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, July 22, 1996 TAG: 9607220117
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN SNIDER
A 15-year-old Wisconsin boy was electrocuted Sunday while fishing in the James River.
Botetourt County Sheriff Reed Kelly said Eric Bowden, his brother and three other boys were fishing near a quarry in Buchanan about 11a.m.
Bowden was fishing by himself in ankle-deep water when the others heard him call for help, Kelly said. He was pulled from the river and taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial, where he was pronounced dead.
Kelly said he's not sure whether Bowden touched something or if electrical current was flowing through the water.
The spot where Bowden was standing is near a submerged pump used to draw water from the river and back to the quarry, Kelly said.
The pump is the most likely source of the electricity, the sheriff said. Authorities will continue their investigation.
Officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were at the scene Sunday afternoon, Kelly said.
Bowden and his family live in Green Bay and apparently were on vacation. Bowden's parents were sightseeing on the Blue Ridge Parkway while the boys fished.
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB