Four people died Tuesday night after the SUV they were in plunged into 18 feet of water near Leesburg, Ala., and the search for a fifth person continued Wednesday as darkness closed in on searchers.
Cherokee County Sheriff Jeff Shaver said seven people were riding in a seven-passenger SUV around 7 p.m. CST Tuesday. They apparently were unfamiliar with the road leading to Leesburg Landing and didn't realize it lines up with a boat ramp on Weiss Lake if drivers don't turn right into a parking lot or swing left around a parking loop just past the ramp.
"They took a wrong turn and ran off the end of the boat ramp," Shaver said Tuesday morning as crews searched for a missing victim. Two people survived.
"The vehicle submerged and rescue personnel recovered two people from the water who are at the hospital. And [Tuesday] night, they recovered a total of four deceased from the water and they recovered the vehicle," Shaver said.
The victims were identified as Cherokee County residents Robert Hardin; Cheryl Hobson; her daughter, Christy Hobson; and Dale Keener, said Cherokee County Coroner Dr. Jeremy Deaton. The victims range in age from their 20s to their 40s.
The missing victim was identified as Jefferson County resident Bobby Shore, a friend of Hardin's, Deaton said.
"It's been a total disaster," Deaton said.
The two surviving victims, both Leesburg residents, were transported to a hospital in nearby Gadsden for treatment and have since returned home. Deaton said they asked that their names not be released.
Weiss Lake comprises three rivers - the Coosa, Chattooga and Little - and Weiss Dam, built by the Alabama Power Co. in 1961. Weiss Lake covers almost 31,000 acres, reaching east to the Georgia state line.
The portion of Weiss Lake where the vehicle went into the water is a channel immediately south of Leesburg that connects the eastern and western parts of the reservoir.
Alabama Power Co. stemmed the flow of water through Weiss Lake's dam for the duration of search operations.
"Alabama Power Co. is fully cooperating with the local authorities and has suspended operations on Weiss Lake pending notification from the sheriff's office," agency spokeswoman Jacki-Lyn Thacker Lowery said via email Wednesday.
Electric customers in the area will see no impact on power supplies, she said.
Shaver said the two survivors of the incident were able to talk to state police and first responders who got to the scene not long after the vehicle went into the river.
Meanwhile, Leesburg police and fire, the Cherokee County Rescue Squad and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency are continuing to investigate the accident.
Officials said the searchers will resume operations this morning.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.