LILESVILLE — The body of a man who drowned at Blewett Falls on Sunday has been found.

A 64-year-old Scotland County man was with his family on a pontoon when he left the boat to swim, according to Lt. Brian Tice with the Anson County Sheriff’s Office. The man’s family called 911 when the man went under the water at about 5 p.m. Sunday. The body was recovered just after 8:30 p.m. Monday.

Authorities had not identified the man as of Monday night.

The search was complicated by conflicting accounts of where the man went missing, Anson County Emergency Services Director Rodney Diggs said. On Monday evening, Diggs told the Richmond County Daily Journal said he was still unsure of where on the lake the victim was when he drowned.

“We don’t really know where he went in because of conflicting reports,” Diggs told the Jounal. “I will say this. He was just about a little to the right of the boat landing dock.”

According to Diggs, the lake is about 40 feet deep in the center, but he believes the area where the man went under to be about 15 to 20 feet deep.

Diggs said he did not expect the current to carry the body far from the site where he went under.

“My experience is, where they went down is where they’ll come up,” Diggs said.

Rescue efforts halted around 9:15 p.m. Sunday and resumed at about 9 a.m. Monday, with Charlotte Fire and Rescue assisting by sending out a sonar team and divers. One boat equipped with sonar was already on the water Sunday evening, Diggs added.

Diggs asked for public cooperation and privacy.

“We ask people to avoid this scene while we conduct this search,” he said.

Anson County Emergency Management and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission are heading the search. They are being assisted by Ellerbe Fire and Rescue, Cordova Fire and Rescue, Lilesville Fire Department, Anson County Sheriff’s Office, Anson EMS, Anson Rescue Squad, North Carolina Emergency Management, Anson County Emergency Management, Hamlet Fire and Rescue and the Rockingham Fire Department.

Reach reporter Imari Scarbrough at 704-994-5471 and follow her on Twitter @ImariScarbrough.

Imari Scarbrough | Anson Record Authorities estimate that the lake is 15 to 20 feet deep in the area they were looking for a man who drowned Sunday evening.
https://ansonrecord.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_IMG_5063.jpgImari Scarbrough | Anson Record Authorities estimate that the lake is 15 to 20 feet deep in the area they were looking for a man who drowned Sunday evening.

Imari Scarbrough | Anson Record Rescue teams, including this group from Ellerbe Rescue Squad, spend hours on Blewett Falls searching for the body of a man who drowned Sunday.
https://ansonrecord.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_IMG_5074.jpgImari Scarbrough | Anson Record Rescue teams, including this group from Ellerbe Rescue Squad, spend hours on Blewett Falls searching for the body of a man who drowned Sunday.

Imari Scarbrough | Anson Record Searchers spend hours looking for the body of a Scotland County man who drowned in Blewett Falls.
https://ansonrecord.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_IMG_5075.jpgImari Scarbrough | Anson Record Searchers spend hours looking for the body of a Scotland County man who drowned in Blewett Falls.

By Imari Scarbrough

iscarbrough@civitasmedia.com