By Penny Ray
Cherokee Scout
Murphy – A local father drowned last week during a fishing trip with his son, who remains missing as of the Cherokee Scout’s press time Tuesday.
A kayaker found the elder man’s body near the shoreline of Hiwassee Lake around 6:15 p.m. May 7.
Authorities are operating under the assumption that the father fell into the water and the son tried to save him.
A GoFundMe page has been started by the family to help pay for expenses, as the father did not have insurance. The page and an obituary identified the father as Larry Sowell, 68, of Marble, and the son as Matt Sowell.
“This is a personal tragedy,” Emergency Management Director Robin Caldwell said.
Authorities located an unattended 16-foot jon boat floating in the lake across from where the kayaker found the elder man’s body.
Officials say the boat contained personal items belonging to the missing person.
While the investigation remains ongoing, officials are working under the assumption that this was a single-boat accident. Authorities did not find evidence of a collision and do not suspect foul play.
Officials are unsure whether the boat’s location was where the elder Sowell fell into the water, so they have searched the area several times since the evening of May 7.
“We’ve searched by air, we’ve had K-9 teams search on land and we have dive teams in the water,” Caldwell said. “We’ve exhaustively searched the area multiple times.”
Cherokee County Emergency Management is working with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission to locate the missing person.
They are being assisted by several law enforcement agencies and local fire departments.