Local man drowns while fishing
Published 3:48 pm Tuesday, March 11, 2014
One man has drowned after a fishing boat he was on capsized just outside of Greenville.
The victim, identified as 76-year-old Elvin (Buddy) Gene Skipper of Greenville, was found at 4 p.m. Monday afternoon on a private pond located near the woods adjacent to Spring Hill Road and Halso Mill Road.
Butler County Sheriff Kenny Harden said that there were two men aboard the capsized fishing boat, though one made it safely to shore.
“They both held onto the boat for a little while and tried to get to the bank,” Harden said.
“One of the gentlemen made it out to the bank and the other went down before he got to the bank. So we got divers from Covington County to come up and we had South Butler Rescue and the Greenville Fire Department to help us, as well.”
Harden added that the incident was likely caused as a result of one of the two fishermen standing up near the front of the fishing boat that caused it to capsize.
“It’s a V-bottom boat and they’re really easy to turn over, and he was on the front end of the boat and he stood up,” Harden said. “It turned over with them.”
The unnamed fisherman who made it to the bank is said to have not sustained any injuries.