Body found floating in Fontana Lake near Great Smokies; Swain County Sheriff investigating

A body was found floating over the weekend in Fontana Lake in Swain County, according to Sheriff Curtis Cochran, who said his office is investigating.

"The body was found by two people fishing at the marina about 12:30 Saturday (May 13) afternoon," Cochran told the Citizen Times on May 15.

"We're not going to release any more information until we get a hold of the autopsy," he said, adding that he expected it to be conducted this week.

Cochran said the body was that of a male, who had a wallet, so he believes they know the person's identification.

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He said deputies were dispatched to "Fontana Lake at the Wilderness Marina in the Greasy Branch area of Swain County for a body that was found floating in the water." The Greasy Branch area is on the northeastern shores of Fontana Lake, to the west of Bryson City and just outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park boundaries.

In response to a Citizen Times query, Smokies spokesperson Emily Davis said on the evening of May 15 that a search for a man missing in the park was not connected to the Fontana Lake body.

Two weeks since he was last seen and 11 days into a search for a missing Florida man in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, officials called off the active field search for Gordon Kaye, 69, of Tampa, Florida, which began April 26, in the Deep Creek area of the park near Bryson City.

On May 7, the National Park Service said in a news release that the extensive ground search in the national park would transition from an "active search to a limited, but continuous search, which may include backcountry patrols, air searches when practical, and outreach to hikers heading into the area."

Cochran said in the Sheriff's Office Facebook post that "There is no known threat to the community."

Updated to include response from Great Smokies spokesperson.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Fontana Lake body found floating near Great Smoky Mountains