Body of Hope Mills teen recovered from Rockfish Creek
Cumberland County authorities resumed their search Thursday morning for a 17-year-old swimmer who went missing Wednesday afternoon in Rockfish Creek.
Posted — UpdatedDebbie Tanna, a spokeswoman for the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office, said shortly before 1 p.m. that 17-year-old Cameron Draughon was found about 50 feet from where he had been swimming with two other people Wednesday afternoon.
Draughon went under around 4:30 p.m. after he dropped a slice of pizza in the water and went to retrieve it, Tanna said.
Crews began searching under water and on creek banks but were forced to halt their search Wednesday evening because of darkness. They resumed searching the creek – 35 feet at its deepest point – around 8 a.m. Thursday and used sonar equipment to help see through water muddied by recent heavy rains.
Draughon was a rising senior at Gray's Creek High School.
His death is the second this month for Cumberland County authorities.
On June 6, crews found the body of 18-year-old Dustin Turner who, two days earlier, went under water in the Cape Fear River and never resurfaced.
His body was recovered three hours before he was set to graduate from Cape Fear High School.
• Credits
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
