A Walton County man drowned while swimming with friends at the pond at Hard Labor Creek Beach on the evening of Sept. 7.
Devise Blount, 35, of Monroe, was reportedly racing friends to a buoy when he began having trouble staying afloat.
According to reports, Morgan County deputy Keith Campbell was dispatched to the Hard Labor Creek State Park regarding a drowning.
Witnesses told Campbell, Blount, and his friends had been swimming back and forth between a white buoy and a yellow buoy that marked the limits of the swimming area.
Friends and witnesses rushed to help Blount, “diving down to grab him and attempting to hold him up” without success. One witness said he tried to get a life preserver to Blount, but he had gone under by that point and couldn’t be lifted above the water.
Sgt. Bo Kelly of the MCSO arrived on scene with Department of Natural Resources personnel and located Blount using a boat equipped with sonar technology, according to Morgan County Sheriff Tyler Hooks. Hooks said Blount was located quickly, but he had already drowned.
Divers from the Covington-Newton EMA team, made up of personnel from Newton County Sheriff’s Office and Fire Department, and the Covington Police Department, then retrieved Blount’s body at around 9 p.m. in 15 feet of water, according to DNR spokesman Mark McKinnon.
Blount’s body was turned over to the Morgan County Coroner’s Office.
Described by friends on Facebook as the kindest and happiest person, Blount was said to have had a unique ability to light up any room and bring joy to those around him, making many laugh even in difficult times.