Man jumped off boat and was never seen alive again, South Carolina coroner says
A South Carolina man jumped off a boat Saturday and was never seen alive again, according to the Pickens County Coroner’s Office.
At about 4:30 p.m., deputies responded to an emergency call about an incident at Saluda Lake, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office said.
At the Saluda Lake Community Boat Landing at 605 Motorboat Club Road, deputies learned a 70-year-old man — later identified by the coroner’s office as Easley resident Francis Andrew March — was on a boat on the lake and jumped in the water but never resurfaced, according to the sheriff’s office.
Coordinated efforts by members of the sheriff’s offices as well as EMS crews in Greenville County and Pickens County along with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources that included dive operations resulted in March’s body being recovered just before 8 p.m., the coroner’s office said.
Information about where in the lake, and the depth of the water, that the body was discovered was not available.
At about 8 p.m., the coroner’s office said it was called to the lake for a reported drowning. No cause of death has been announced by the coroner.
No other injuries were reported.
The death continues to be investigated by the coroner’s office along with the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office and South Carolina DNR.
Saluda Lake is a 331 acre reservoir that connects to the Saluda River on the border of Greenville and Pickens counties.
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This story was originally published June 22, 2025 at 9:45 AM with the headline "Man jumped off boat and was never seen alive again, South Carolina coroner says."
