Two South Carolina men were killed over the weekend and they were recovered from a body of water in the Midlands, the Kershaw County Coroner’s Office said Sunday in a news release.
Coroner David West said the victims were 21-year-old Richland County resident Valentin Ulises Nicolas Quiroz and 43-year-old Sumter resident Lonnie Hancock.
At about 4:10 p.m. Saturday, there was a 911 call about a drowning, West said in the release. A dispatcher was told the drowning happened in the Tail Race area of the Wateree River, according to the release. That’s behind the Wateree Dam, West said.
When emergency responders got to the river, they learned there were two victims, according to the release.
One body was recovered Saturday night, WIS reported.
The Kershaw County Fire Service said the second body was recovered Sunday, and that the scene has been cleared.
Information about how the men ended up in the water and what they were doing was not available.
Members of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources helped in the search, and other emergency agencies that responded to the scene included Kershaw County EMS as well as Camden Fire Department and Lugoff Fire Department.
No causes of death have been made public by the coroner’s office, but autopsies have been scheduled for Tuesday in Newberry County, West said.
