Teenager dies in suspected drowning after baptism was held at SC park, coroner says

A South Carolina teenager died Sunday in a suspected drowning hours after he was baptized, the Lee County Coroner’s Office said.

Jorge Roberto Morales Ramirez’s body was recovered at about 5 p.m. from a pond known as the swimming hole at Lee State Park, Deputy Coroner Chad Cunningham told The State Monday.

The 18-year-old Hartsville resident was one of four or five people to have been baptized in the pond hours earlier, according to the coroner’s office. They stayed at the park following the religious ceremony.

“They were playing out there,” Coroner Larry Logan told The State.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said after the baptism the pastor left but the family stayed to grill food and the teenager “went back into the water and went into deeper waters beyond the barrier ... into waters that (were) too deep (and) he went underneath the water,” WPDE reported.

Morales Ramirez was reported missing at about 2:45 p.m., South Carolina Department of Natural Resources spokesman Greg Lucas told The State.

His body was found by Lee County Fire Rescue, with non-diving assistance from SCDNR, Lucas said.

There were no other injuries reported.

Cunningham said the death appears to be a drowning, but an autopsy will be held Tuesday in Newberry for official confirmation.

The death is being investigated by the sheriff’s office.

Along with DNR, the sheriff’s office, and the Lee County Fire Department, other agencies that responded to the emergency included Lee County EMS, the Bishopville Police Department, the Lee State Park Ranger, and the Darlington County Fire Department dive team.