Operator launched his 8'' plastic Bass Buddy fishing boat from the Metro Beach Access on the afternoon of June 11, 2011.  The time is not known, perhaps between 16:00 and 17:00 hours.  Operator sent a text to his wife at 15:40, stating he was taking the boat out.  Wife responded by text asking if he was taking it to the cove on the other side.  She was refering to the cove adjacent to the Metro Beach Access.  The last phone conversation Wife had with Operator was at 20:32, she said he stated he was in the cove adjacent to the Metro Beach Access.  At 20:41, Wife texted Operator and asked if he was coming home before she went to bed.  At 20:47, Operator responded he didn''t know.  That was last contact anyone had with Operator.  Wife called Operator''s cell phone at 22:51.  The phone went straight to voicemail.  At 23:54, Wife texted Operator''s cell phone to tell him that lighting and wind was picking up in the area.  Operator did not respond to the text.

Wife called TWRA on June 13, 2011 at approximately 13:30 to report Operator had not returned from fishing on Old Hickory Lake the previous night.  Operator''s truck was parked at the Metro Beach Access area.  TWRA and Davidson County OEM personnel searched the area.  OEM personnel located a fishing rod in the water near the first cove upstream of the Metro Beach Access.  Wife identified the rod as Operator''s.  OEM divers search the cove where the rod was located.  The search was stopped at sunset.

The search for Operator resumed at approximately 08:30 on June 14, 2011.  At approximately 10:30, TWRA and OEM personnel located Operator''s body floating with 20 yards of the shore in the first cove upstream of the Metro Beach Access area.  The medical examiner ruled his death was caused by drowning.  Operator''s boat has not been located. 

I obtained weather data for June 11 and 12, 2011 from the web site "Underground Weather".  Data collected indicated that the wind speed and gusts increased at approximately 22:43 on June 11, 2011.  This may have caused Operator''s boat to become swamped and sink.  Wife stated that Operator usually did not take a pfd when he took his boat on the water.  She stated he usually had a throw cushion in the boat.


http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp-ID=KTNHENDE5andmonth=6andday=11andyear=2011
http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp-ID=KTNHENDE5andmonth=6andday=12andyear=2011

NASHVILLE                     