Body of Missing Swimmer Recovered from Broad River

COLUMBIA, SC -- The search for a man who got lost in the Broad River Saturday is over. Divers with the Richland County Sheriff's Office and the Department of Natural Resources found the body at 11:19 Sunday morning.

April Pou considers herself a good swimmer. But even she's not willing to test those skills in the Broad River.

"You fall, you might slip because you can't see all the rocks,"says Pou.

It's not the only reason why she'd rather enjoy the river from the shore. "I wouldn't get in there because I don't know how deep it is,"says Pou.

Earlier in the day and just yards down stream, a recovery team found the body of a construction worker who went under Saturday afternoon.

Witnesses say the man had been working on condos near Atlantic Drive. Authorities say the man may have waded into the river to try and cool off after work.

"He was at the river with some friends and he walked out a little further than what he thought and didn't realize it dropped off as far as it did," says Monique Mack, spokesperson with the Richland County Sheriff's Department.

Mack says dive teams assisted the Department of Natural Resources in locating the man's body.

Meanwhile Pou now has even more reason to respect the water. "They don't understand the currents are very powerful. Water can overpower you,"says Pou.

An autopsy is scheduled for Monday to determine a cause of death. If it's ruled a drowning, it will be at least the sixth in the Midlands this year.