Body of missing Lake Murray diver recovered on New Year’s Day, identified by SC coroner
The body of a diver who went missing on Lake Murray Dec. 28 has been recovered.
The S.C. Department of Natural Resources located the man’s body in the lake around 10:30 a.m. Sunday, almost four days after he had last been seen alive, a department spokesman said.
A cause of death has not been determined. The department said its investigation into the incident is continuing.
The deceased has been identified as Paul Lloyd Lunsford, 54, of Chapin, the Lexington County Coroner’s Office said.
The man went missing around 1 p.m. Wednesday while diving with a group in an area of Lake Murray that is estimated at 120 feet deep. He was last seen near the lake’s hydroelectric intake towers.
Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher said in a news release that Lunsford entered the water near the Lake Murray Towers, and a search began shortly after Lunsford did not resurface.
An autopsy is scheduled Wednesday at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
This was not the first search for a missing person in Lake Murray in 2022.
In early August, the body of a missing boater from Edgefield was recovered in the lake after more than a week of searching, according to DNR.
About two weeks prior to that, the body of a 72-year-old Saluda man was recovered July 20, the day after he fell off a boat and disappeared in Lake Murray. The body was found in the area of the lake near Little River Landing, the Saluda County Coroner’s Office said.
In June, the DNR said it recovered the body of a missing boater near the Lake Murray dam. Officials said the death was an accidental drowning, WPDE reported.
In April, the DNR dive team recovered the body of a male boater after he fell overboard around Buffalo Creek near the Grant Williams Estates, the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office said. The man was a Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, resident who was visiting Lake Murray with his wife, according to DNR.
In late 2021, the body of another man who went missing on Lake Murray was recovered after several days.
On Oct. 26, a 36-year-old man disappeared after he got on his boat at a Lake Murray marina off U.S. 378 about 3 a.m., law enforcement officers told The State. The boat was found near Spence’s Point, but it wasn’t until Nov. 6 that his body was recovered. The Lexington County Coroner’s Office said no foul play was suspected.
This is a breaking news story. It may be updated.
