Woman Drowns While Trying to Launch Boat at Shawnee Bend Access

Updated Story:

Tragedy on the lake…one person is dead after apparently drowning early Monday afternoon at the Shawnee Bend Access ramp.

The incident reportedly happened as a husband and wife were launching a boat when the wife, who was pulling the trailer out of the water, suffered from an unknown medical event before ending up in the water still inside the vehicle.

“Firefighters arrived on scene and three firefighters ended the water in attempt to rescue the occupant that was trapped in the vehicle,” says Sunrise Beach Fire Chief Joe Laplant, “Unfortunately, it had drifted out to about 15ft of water and was too deep for us to dive down.”

LaPlant says at that point, the Mid-County Dive Team was called and they were able to retrieve the woman’s body from the water.

The woman was identified as 78-year-old Nina Rhodes of Sunrise Beach.

Her husband escaped any injury in the incident.

Original Story:

Tragedy on the lake…one person is dead after drowning early this (Monday, 08/28/2023) afternoon at the Shawnee Bend Access ramp.

The incident reportedly happened as a husband and wife were launching a boat with the husband on the boat and the wife backing the trailer in and the truck ending up in the water.

Personnel from the highway patrol along with the Sunrise Beach and Mid-County fire districts responded to the scene.

The woman was pulled from the vehicle in about 15-feet of water a short time later.

Sunrise Beach Chief Joe Laplant says the husband escaped without any physical injury.

KRMS News will pass along more details when released by the highway patrol.