COLUMBIA, Tenn. – Officials have identified a juvenile drowning victim who fell into the Duck River.
Authorities said 14-year-old Martarius Clemons accidentally fell in the river near the Blue Springs Swimming Hole around 4:50 p.m. Saturday.
Witnesses told authorities Clemons went under, and friends attempted to make a rescue due to him not being able to swim.
“It can go from being a really deep hole to a shallow hole,” volunteer searcher Terry Ervin said. “You've got to worry about trot lines, limb lines. You can get hung up on anything. It's not a good river to swim in with the water up.”
Officials said Clemons never resurfaced. Sonar and dive teams were deployed Saturday night, but the search was called off until Sunday morning due to darkness. Recent rain made the river swell, murky and strengthened the current which made search efforts even more difficult.
“The current of the river is still a factor in the search operation. It’s limiting us to the use of underwater divers,” Joey Norman, EMA Liason and Operations Chief said.
His body had not yet been recovered. The search has been called off for the evening and was set to resume Monday morning.
