Boater’s death in Horry County crash leads to search
A state dive team recovered the body of a boater Monday afternoon, hours after the person was reported missing.
Horry County Deputy Coroner Patty Bellamy told The Sun News the victim was found earlier in the day.
The person was later identified as 24-year-old Jacob Williams of Myrtle Beach, whose body was recovered around 11:30 a.m.
An autopsy is planned, but Chief Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard said on an email Williams was thrown from a boat after it struck a dock.
Crews responded to the Peachtree Landing boat launch in the Socastee area around 8:56 p.m. Sunday after reports that a jon boat operator collided with a dock.
A staging area at the Peachtree Landing boat launch in Socastee on Monday included units from Horry County Fire Rescue, state Department of Natural Resources aquatic investigations and recovery, Horry County Police Department and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Officials urged through social media that boaters in the area use caution and be on alert for a heightened public-safety presence.
Coast Guard and Horry County Fire Rescue vessels returned to shore between noon and 12:30 p.m. on Monday, though several other watercraft remained on a slow patrol.
No further information was immediately available.
The site is about 7 miles from the Socastee Swing Bridge, which remains closed after a vehicle drove off it last week, killing its driver.
A boating accident occured Sunday evening on the Intracoastal Waterway near Socastee. A jon boat collided with a dock. One person is missing. Our dive team is handling the search and SCDNR officers are in the early stages of their investigation. pic.twitter.com/JY3NxKYT6K
— S.C. Dept. of Natural Resources (@SCDNR) June 19, 2023
