HAMPTON, Tenn. (AP) - A North Carolina man has drowned while trying to rescue a dog that had jumped into an east Tennessee lake, authorities said
Eric Jordan, 52, was on a boat traveling on Watauga Lake on Friday evening when a dog entered the water, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said.
Jordan jumped into the water while the boat was still moving to rescue the dog, but Jordan began to struggle, the agency said.
A bystander on a nearby houseboat entered the water and pulled him onboard. CPR was administered but Jordan could not be revived, officials said. His body was taken to Quillen College of Medicine in Johnson City for an autopsy.
Investigators determined Jordan had previously lived in Avery County, North Carolina, and Carter County, Tennessee, agency spokesman Matthew Cameron said.