The Marion County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a missing boater on Lake Weir, and residents are being asked to avoid the search area.
On Tuesday, June 21, at around 2:30 p.m., MCSO received a call for service in reference to a boat that was drifting on Lake Weir with one boater who was missing.
According to MCSO, a total of three juveniles and one adult male were on a boat in the middle of the lake when two of the children and the adult went for a swim. As the boat drifted away, one of the children retrieved the watercraft to pick up the other child while the adult male remained in the water.
Upon returning to the swimming area, the adult male was missing. The incident is being investigated as a possible drowning.
Throughout the afternoon and night on Tuesday, MCSO’s Aviation Unit, Marine Unit, and Underwater Recovery Team searched for the missing man without results.
The MCSO Aviation Unit, Marine Unit, and Underwater Recovery Team, along with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office’s Marine Unit and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, resumed search efforts early on Wednesday, June 22.
Unfortunately, at this time, the missing man has not yet been located.
There is an increased law enforcement presence on Lake Weir, and MCSO is requesting that residents stay away from this area. Any boaters who enter the search area would be putting the units in the water at risk while making the search more difficult.
If you have any information about this possible drowning, or if you locate something that may assist with the search, please call 911.