Dive Teams Find Body Of Missing Fisherman

CHAPMANSBORO, Tenn. -- Crews on Thursday discovered the body of a man who drowned near a Cheatham County dam.

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Crews found the body of Donnie Morse on Thursday afternoon. Morse and a friend were fishing when their boat turned over early Thursday morning near the Cheatham County dam in the Chapmansboro community.

Both men were wearing life jackets, but Morse's slipped off, according to officials. Morse's friend was able to swim to shore.

The divers had focused their search around a barge along a wooded area because search and rescue dogs picked up on a scent, officials said.

The boat had stalled and both men were in the process of anchoring it when it began to fill with water.

“We did have a tow boat that was locking through at the time in Cheatham lock. But in no form did the boat have anything to do with it but there was water probably coming out of the lock at the time that spills out into that area, so that may have had something to do with it,” said Ashland City Fire Department Chief Chuck Walker.

A corps manager said the gates on the dam were up about 1 foot, which is standard procedure.

There are signs near the dam warning boaters of turbulence.

Family members said the men fished in the area frequently and were very close friends.

Dam officials said the flow of water from the dam would be shut off so crews could search the area more easily.