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A team of emergency services personnel combed the Little Tennessee River where it feeds into Lake Fontana on Thursday, searching for two men who they discovered had drowned.”
Larry Griffin
lgriffin@thesmokymountaintimes.com
Two local men have drowned after being reported lost on Thursday afternoon, Aug. 10, according to the Swain County Sheriff’s Office.
The victims are Francisco Javier Morjaras, 19, and Mario Garcia Ramirez, 26, his brother, both of Franklin. They were found at 1:45 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11— nearly 24 hours after they were first reported missing.
Dispatch sent a call out at 3:48 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10, reporting two men had fallen into the river and one was drowning. The second man, apparently the first man’s brother, jumped in after to save him, but neither had come up.
The location of the incident was TA Sandlin Bridge on the water where the river feeds into Lake Fontana. The men were from Franklin and are part of the Hispanic community there, according to information provided by Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran.
Swain County Rescue Squad was quickly dispatched along with other agencies, including West Swain Fire Department, Swain County Sheriff’s Department and Wildlife Service. Cherokee Police Department was also on the scene with an interpreter.
Boats full of emergency response and law enforcement officials were in the water to continue the search. Family and other members of the community were waiting on the shore under the bridge.
Swain Sheriff’s Office’s Capt. Brian Kirkland used his own boat to comb the river as part of the rescue mission, according to Deputy Jason Gardner. Kirkland, a tournament fisherman, has a boat equipped with sonar that can be used effectively to see things under water.
The search went on for hours Thursday until it finally had to be called off as the night fell. On Friday, Aug. 11, the search resumed in the early morning hours until the men were found in the early afternoon.
On Friday, the search “was considered a recovery mission at this time with Henderson County Dive team joining the recovery mission,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Sheriff Curtis Cochran would like to thank everyone for their help and cooperation in this matter,” the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook.
Jessica Webb, editor, contributed to this story