Missing man found dead in Duck River
Witnesses told police a man and a woman jumped in and the man never resurfaced.
SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Rescue crews have found the body of a man who drowned in the Duck River on Thursday afternoon in Shelbyville.
Chris “Toejoe” Richardson, 50, was seen jumping into the river along with a woman around 4 p.m. Thursday, according to Shelbyville Police. Chris never came up, while the woman resurfaced a few seconds later and had to be pulled out of the water by people nearby.
Rescue crews were able to find the body in the water around 5:30 p.m. Friday near the old dam building witnesses told officials Chris jumped off.
James Brandon is Chris’ older brother and said family waited along the banks of the river to search for answers while trying to process what happened to Chris.
“It was 80 degrees out here just having the time of their life, and the next thing you know he’s gone,” Brandon said. “It happens that quick.”
“They were swimming,” Brandon said. “She had fell in and she couldn’t swim, and he went to rescue her.”
Rescue crews searched for the missing man in the area around Fisherman’s Park until nightfall on Thursday. They continued to drag the river bottom on Friday morning using divers, boats and sonar.
“It’s very dangerous here,” Shelbyville Fire Marshal Jason Richardson. “Even though it looks like the water is lower right now, it’s still swift currents here and people can get swept under water especially along the dam right there. If you get in that current, it can pin you up against that dam.”
Jason said the fire department responds to that area frequently for water rescues in the summer, but he was surprised to get a call on Thursday because the water is still very cold.
Rescue crews looked up and down the river hoping to bring closure for Chris’ family.
“He was an outgoing sweet guy who would do anything in the world for anybody,” Brandon said about his brother. “We just want him back home so we can properly bury him.”
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