Authorities find second body after deadly Pittsylvania County boating accident

Wife of one of the men found dead witnessed capsizing, got help

PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va.UPDATE

Search crews located the second body after a deadly boating accident in Pittsylvania County on Sunday night, according to the Henry County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities found Rosevelt Fuller, a Danville resident in his 50s, just before 5 p.m. on Monday. They found the body of Willie Terry, a Danville resident in his 70s, on Sunday.

The Sheriff’s Office used sonar scanning to find Fuller’s body.

Authorities believe the boat capsized as Fuller and Terry were moving around in the boat. They don’t suspect foul play.

Both bodies were taken to the medical examiner’s office in Roanoke for an autopsy to determine the official cause of death.

ORIGINAL STORY

Authorities say they have found one body and are looking for a second body after a boating accident Sunday night in Pittsylvania County, according to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

At about 6:30 p.m., Sunday two older men were fishing in a jon boat in a private pond in the 1400 block of Dodson Road when, somehow, the boat capsized.

The wife of the man found dead was fishing from the shore.

According to DGIF, she tried to help after the boat capsized but when she wasn’t able to she ran to a nearby house to get help.

Members of the Danville Life Saving Crew responded and spent about three hours searching and found the woman’s husband.

The search for the second man was called off due to darkness.

Around 8:30 a.m. Monday, they returned to the pond to continue searching.

The Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office and Blairs Fire and Rescue Department were also on scene Monday along with the DLSC and the DGIF.

The pond is believed to be about 10 to 15 feet deep according to DGIF and is very murky.

DGIF officer Eric Dotterer said Virginia State Police had also been contacted about possibly assisting with the search.

Late Monday afternoon, a boat from the Henry County Sheriff’s Office was brought in to help.

Exactly how the boat capsized was still unclear Monday afternoon.

“Due to the stress of the situation, (the wife has) given us a briefing on what happened, general areas to look. We’ve tried to give her time to work through what she saw,” Dotterer said when asked if law enforcement had spoken to the wife.

The search will continue until the second man is found.