Mike Melton – Colbert EMA oversees recovery efforts for missing fishermen
LAKE PICKWICK – As long as Wilson Dam has been there, holding back the waters of the Tennessee, fishermen have been taking to their small boats to catch fish in the mighty tail waters of the spillways. Most of the time it works out… But occasionally, the River takes its toll. This week the price was paid by two young men.
Friday afternoon, cadaver dogs, carried in rescue/recovery boats, hit on two spots just a few hundred feet from the powerhouse at Wilson Dam. Again this morning, they hit on the same two spots. Underneath the lake’s surface, which had been lowered by the TVA, authorities suspected that the bodies of brothers Jeremiah and Jacob Sanders had been located. They went missing Wednesday afternoon while on a short fishing excursion.
This morning, about 10 AM, recovery divers launched their boats to search, and in all likelihood recover the bodies of the two men.
Mike Melton, who is coordinating the recovery effort for Colbert County, told the Quad-Cities Daily that out of respect for the families. the “Rockpile Area” below Wilson Dam is being kept closed until the operation is completed and the remains of the two men are recovered. Melton and the rescue personnel are stationed near the boat ramp at the Rockpile.
Colbert County Sheriff Frank Williamson and Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton at recovery scene
A couple of hundred yards closer to the dam, Colbert Sheriff Frank Williamson and Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton and some deputies are stationed to observe the recovery operation just 200 feet or so from the South shore.
As further information is developed, we will report it.
Photos of the dive team:
