NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — Authorities say the body of a man who was kayaking on the Savannah River has been recovered after he went for a swim during a trip on Saturday afternoon.
Coroner Darryl Ables said that his office is investigating the death of a Beech Island man who, along with a friend, kayaked from the Savannah Rapid Park in Evans, Georgia.
The coroner said the kayakers paddled downstream to an area with rapids before getting out of their kayaks and swimming in them.
"After several times of swimming in the rapids, one of the men became distressed and started calling for help before going beneath the surface," the coroner's office said in a statement.
Authorities were notified by a witness who heard the calls for help around 3:30 p.m. Authorities later found the other kayaker as he returned to look for his friend.
The victim, 35-year-old Tommy C. Bellamy, was recovered on Sunday by South Carolina Department of Natural Resources divers around noon. The coroner's office said he was found in the Indian Rock Court area of North Augusta.
Both the coroner's office and the North Augusta Department of Public Safety are investigating the incident.
