A Chapel Hill resident drowned in Jordan Lake on Monday while trying to retrieve a drifting boat, according to Chatham County authorities.
A release from the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office detailed the recovery of 44-year-old De Gui Yuan’s body. The county’s emergency communications received a call of a possible drowning near the lake access off Martha’s Chapel Church Road around 11:24 a.m., which sent emergency responders out to the vicinity of Farrington Point Road. Upon arrival and after interviewing those on scene, investigators found that Yuan and three friends were boating on Jordan Lake that morning when they beat their boat along the shoreline.
When the boat later began to drift away unattended, Yuan swam into the water to try and retrieve it, according to the sheriff’s office — but he was unable to reach the boat and never returned to shore. Search crews recovered his body early Monday afternoon.
The incident marks the first drowning of the calendar year at Jordan Lake, as reported by the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, and the second body recovery within the last month after an incident on May 18.
Chatham County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Steven Maynor shared the office’s “thoughts and condolences” with Mr. Yuan’s family and loved ones in the wake of his death. Since Yuan was not wearing a life jacket at the time of his drowning, the sheriff’s office urged anyone boating or swimming in waterways like Jordan Lake to wear an appropriately-sized life jacket whenever they are on the water.
In addition to deputies and staff of the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, other responding agencies on Monday included the North Chatham Fire Department, FirstHealth EMS, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, and the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Photo via the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office.
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Chatham County Sheriff’s Office: First Drowning of 2026 Reported at Jordan Lake, Victim Lacking Life Jacket Chapelboro.com.
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