‘Traumatic’: Florida college student found dead in lake near campus after a boat ride

A 19-year-old college student was found dead Thursday in a lake near a Southwest Florida university campus after he went overboard during a boat ride with several people, authorities say.

Graham McGrath, a student at Florida Gulf Coast University, had set sail from a nearby community with a dozen others the day before, when just before 7 p.m., a 911 call alerted law enforcement of a missing boater at the Fort Myers-area Lake Como.

“At some point, one of the occupants went over the boat and... he never returned,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno told reporters Wednesday night.

Multiple agencies deployed divers to the area Wednesday night while Lee detectives began interviewing the people who were onboard the vessel. McGrath’s body was found in the lake the next morning.

According to Marceno, the boat McGrath was in could fit as much as 16 people. He noted that the student’s cause of death is yet to be determined by the county’s medical examiner’s office.

“We don’t see any physical signs of trauma,” Marceno told reporters around noon Thursday after the body has been discovered. “They were having a great time and unfortunately things turned tragic pretty quickly.”

Marceno added: “this is very traumatic for the students.”

FGCU President Aysegul Timur announced Thursday on social media that students and employees are being offered psychological services. Students may call 239-590-7950, or 239-745-EARS (3277) on evenings, weekends and holidays. Employees can call 24/7 at 833-746-8337.

“The entire FGCU community is devastated by the loss of Graham. Our hearts and deepest sympathy go out to Graham’s family, the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, his friends and all members of our Eagle community as we cope with this unfortunate tragedy,” the university said.