A 42-year-old man died at the Erwin Marina on Chickamauga Lake while attempting to load his boat Saturday, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
Officers responded to a missing person call around 2 p.m. after a man who had been loading a Bayliner cabin cruiser had disappeared. Witnesses at the scene said the man had backed up his truck and trailer and was attempting to load his boat. He was seen leaving the boat and attempting to keep it off the rocks near the docks as it was being pushed by high winds, a news release states.
Authorities found the man's body in about 4 feet of water. He was not wearing a life jacket. The body was taken to the Hamilton County Medical Examiner's office. Release of the victim's name was pending next-of-kin notifications, the release said.
The incident is the 26th boating-related fatality in Tennessee this year, according to the release.
-- Compiled by Kim Sebring