The victim of what officials have deemed an accidental drowning in Monroe County has been identified.
On Saturday around 3:15 p.m., a fisherman drowned north of the Aberdeen Lock and Dam in the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. The victim’s body was recovered a little over two hours after the incident with the identity being released Sunday morning.
Joseph Roy West, 55, of Shannon, was identified as the deceased by Monroe County Coroner Alan Gurley. Gurley added that the cause of death was “freshwater drowning,” and all signs point to it being accidental.
“Mr. West was fishing with another fisherman on the waterway when he fell from the boat into approximately 14 feet of water, and according to the witness, never came back up,” Gurley said.
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is investigating West’s death.
