Madison County Sheriff's Office
Contributor
Madison County Sheriff David Harper reports that on Saturday, June 12, at 3:51 p.m., the Madison County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center received a 911 call reporting that a subject had went under water at the Cherry Lake beach and did not resurface. Madison County Fire Rescue, Cherry Lake Volunteer Fire department and Madison County Sheriff’s Office units were all immediately dispatched to the scene.
At 3:53 p.m., the Communications center received an additional 911 call advising the subject had been located and retrieved from the water and CPR was being performed on the dock. At 3:57 p.m., members from the Cherry Lake Volunteer Fire department began arriving on scene and continued CPR on the subject. A Madison County Fire Rescue ambulance arrived on scene, and the subject was transported to Madison County Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased at 5:01 p.m.
The medical examiner’s office was contacted and assumed jurisdiction. Then the subject was transported to Tallahassee.
Statements from witnesses present at the scene indicated that the subject entered the water to assist a child that appeared to be struggling, and upon getting the child to the dock, was when the subject went under and did not resurface.
The subject was an adult male, 40 years of age, from Lake City, Fla.