Carolina angler drowns on Savannah River

Savannah River

Savannah River angler’s body was found on April 28

SCDNR recovered the body of a drowned angler on the Savannah River last week in Hampton County. Darrell James Gaymon apparently fell out of his boat while fishing an area that friends say he was familiar with.

The 56-year-old angler left for a fishing trip on April 27, but did not return when planned. SCDNR began looking for Gaymon and found his boat in an oxbow off of the river. They located the boat on the evening of April 27.

After finding the boat, dive teams arrived on scene to search the water. The crews also employed side-scanning radar as well as handheld sonar to look for Gaymon. On April 28, the radar showed what SCDNR described as “an anomaly” on the bottom of the oxbow. At about 2:45 p.m., they pulled his body from the water.

Gaymon was not wearing a life jacket.

This marked the second boating death on the Savannah River in April. On April 14, the Georgia DNR recovered the body of Brad Keiffer. Keiffer died after the boat he was in collided with a barge. The collision ejected Keiffer and two others.

SCDNR and GDNR urge all boaters to wear life jackets when on the water, especially when boating alone.

About Brian Cope 2745 Articles
Brian Cope is the editor of Carolina Sportsman. He has won numerous awards for his writing, photography, and videography. He is a retired Air Force combat communications technician, and has a B.A. in English Literature from the University of South Carolina. You can reach him at brianc@sportsmannetwork.com.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply