On august 6, 2023 at approximately 1720 hours on falls lake near purnell rd in wake forest, wake county, a boating incident involving 1 vessel and 3 hispanic males occurred. The vessel involved was a mad river passage 14 canoe that had been borrowed for the day. A large group of friends/family members had gathered at the purnell canoe launch and had been taking turns paddling out on the canoe. 

Around 1650 hours, the canoe paddled out with 3 individuals on board. The canoe rolled over while the individuals were paddling/drifting and all 3 individuals fell out of the canoe. No pfds were worn or abroad the canoe at the time of the incident. None of the 3 individuals were proficient swimmers and struggled to stay afloat. Two people were able to stay above water near the canoe. The third individual went underwater and did not return to the surface. Another vessel saw the 2 men in the water but did not witness it flip and came to assist. 

Wake county deputy had been dispatched to the location for a possible drowning call. He walked on foot to the shoreline and called a civilian boat over to him. They picked him up and went to where the canoe was floating to attempt to find victim. Being unsuccessful they towed the canoe to the shoreline where it was secured. The two others were transported to holly point boat ramp by a northern wake fire department boat to be assessed by ems and interviewed, though neither individual speaking english slowed interview efforts. Wake county deputy assisted with minor translation due to being bilingual. 

Northern wake fire department, wake county sheriff''s office and nc wildlife officers responded to the scene and began searching for victim. A possible underwater location was marked 17 feet deep and northern wake fire department utilized an underwater search/recovery drone to located and recover the body at 2211 hours. The body and the canoe were transported to the holly point boat ramp where ccbi and the medical examiner''s office responded to the scene at 2315 hours and the scene cleared at 0011 hours once the body was transported.

FALLS LAKE
WAKE FOREST                   