RedactedNarrative: On 07/30/2016 at approximately 3:00 pm, we received a report that someone falling off a tube and drowning at White Lake in Bladen County, NC.  We contacted Operator#1 (operator of boat and tube) and talked with him to determine what happened.  Operator#1 was coming back to the pier when he noticed one male and two females floating on his tube.  The Male (Tuber#1) and the two females (Tuber#2) and (Tuber#3) asked Operator#1 if he would let them rent the boat for an hour.  Operator#1 said that he could not do that, so Tuber#1 then asked if Operator#1 if he would take them on a ride on the tube around White Lake.  Operator#1 said he would take them around the Lake one time.  Operator#1's girlfriend asked them to put their life jackets on.  The family said that they did not need one because they could swim.  Operator#1 pulled them at idle speed past the no wake zone and took a left.  He then straightened up and increased his speed.  Operator#1 continued to pull them for a couple of minutes and made a left turn to come back to the pier.  Operator#1 saw that they were getting tired so he slowed down.  When he slowed down, the tube began to submerge and they all came off of the tube.  The girls held onto the tube, but Tuber#1 let go.  Operator#1 stopped the boat and tried to throw Tuber#1 a life jacket but the wind blew the life jacket back towards Operator#1.  Operator#1 then jumped in the water to try and save Tuber#1 but Tuber#1 was pulling Operator#1 under water with him.  Operator#1 noticed the boat was getting further and further away so he swam back to boat and told Tuber#1 to relax and try floating on his back.  Operator#1 helped the two women onto the boat.  Operator#1 turned the boat around to get Tuber#1 and he could no longer find him.
  
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  Operator#1 DROWNED DUE TO LACK OF SWIMMING ABILITY AND NOT USING A PERSONAL FLOTATION DEVICE.
  END OF REPORT
  