SURRY COUNTY, N.C. — The man who went missing while rescuing family members at the Yadkin River Sunday afternoon has been recovered and identified.
Deputies identified the body as Benny Ernest Bowers Jr., 44, of Dobson, North Carolina. He was located near the juncture of the Ararat and Yadkin River Monday afternoon.
According to deputies, Bowers was at a family outing Sunday afternoon. They said his family members were in the river, some began to struggle, and he tried to save them. He did successfully rescue them from the water, but unfortunately, he never re-surfaced.
Eric Southern, The Surry County Chief of Emergency Services, says Bowers' body was found 20 feet offshore. His body was found intact in the area where he was last seen at the Ararat and Yadkin River junction.
The sheriff's office said his body was first located with the use of an underwater robot sometime before noon Monday, but additional resources were needed to help retrieve him. Therefore, they called in the High Point dive team. His body was retrieved around 4:09 p.m. Monday afternoon.
The chief explained his body was first found with an underwater robot, but was hard to get to considering strong currents, so the divers needed to be called in.
The body has been sent to the medical examiner's office to determine the exact cause of death.
Deputies said they first got the call for a potential water rescue at the Ararat River and Yadkin Rivers junction Sunday around 12:47 p.m. that's when the search began. The sheriff's office called the search and recovery off Sunday night because it got too dark but began looking again first thing Monday morning.
Over 100 people helped with the search Sunday and about 50-70 people are helping with the search Monday.
Chief Southern is thankful for the community members that showed up to help.
"With this area, with the people we have around here, we always have a great, strong community. Everybody came together," he said.
The body has been sent to the medical examiner's office to determine the exact cause of death.
The sheriff's office said Bower's family has been notified.
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