Body of missing boater pulled from Lake Wylie

Search teams recovered the body of a missing boater from Lake Wylie Thursday morning, and police charged a Rock Hill woman with boating under the influence in connection with the death.

Emergency crews were on the lake at 8 a.m. Thursday searching for the boater, who officials said fell overboard Wednesday night.

Multiple agencies were called to the lake at about 9 p.m. Wednesday, near Hideaway Road and Snug Harbor Road, and were told that the person had fallen off a boat and never resurfaced.

Thursday evening, the York County Coroner's Office identified the victim as Kenneth Varnadore, 52, of Catawba.

Cynthia Averitt, 50, of Rock Hill, who police said was operating the boat, has been charged with boating under the influence, according to the York County Sheriff’s Office.

The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources led the search, with help from the Charlotte Fire Department as well as the York County Sheriff’s Office.

In the past few months, at least seven people have drowned in area lakes – one in the same area where crews were called to Wednesday.

On July 1, Lester Cook, 40, of Clover drowned while performing contract work on a dock on Lake Wylie. Investigators said he fell in the water and never came back up.

That same day, David Napper, 49, of York also disappeared on Lake Wylie near the Buster Boyd Bridge. Witnesses said his boat stalled, then he tried to swim to shore.

His body was found the next day.

This is the sixth drowning on Lake Wylie this year.

This story was originally published July 7, 2016 at 7:36 AM with the headline "Body of missing boater pulled from Lake Wylie."