Description
Divers recovered the body of a missing boater who disappeared underneath the water at the Hernando Beach Boat Ramp off Shoal Line Boulevard.
The man, a 69-year-old from West Virginia who had a vacation home in Pasco County, jumped into the water to retrieve a phone following a day of boating, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office said in a statement after deputies spoke with witnesses Wednesday afternoon.
The man, who was not immediately identified, had been out on the water since 9 a.m. with two other friends and returned to the boat ramp around 3:30 p.m. While working to remove the boat from the water, one of the men dropped their phone before the 69-year-old said he'd go in the water to retrieve it.
He took a pair of goggles and jumped feet first, deputies said.
MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/hernandocounty/hernando-beach-drowning/67-38b1af4a-c3cd-40db-9be1-70aa1f72f890
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