TALLAPOOSA COUNTY, Ala. — A firefighter with the Rattlesnake Fire Protection District died while on vacation in Alabama.
Zachary Lewis, 24, was a passenger on a boat with friends on Lake Martin in Tallapoosa County on Thursday, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Marine Patrol Division (ALEA). The 44,000-acre reservoir is about an hour drive northeast of Alabama's capital city of Montgomery.
The boat was in the Big Kowaliga Creek area near the Willow Point Golf Course when, around 1 p.m. local time, the boat crashed and Lewis went into the water, according to NBC affiliate WSFA. He did not resurface.
Rescue crews were called and searched the waters for Lewis, according to WSFA. The search was called off at 2 a.m. Friday and resumed at around 8 a.m., WSFA reported.
Lewis' body was recovered just after 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, ALEA said.
Members of the Alexander City Rescue Square, Alexander City Fire Department, Childersburg Rescue Squad and Houston County Rescue Squad took part in the search for Lewis, ALEA said.
The incident is still being investigated, according to ALEA.
Lewis had been a firefighter with Rattlesnake Fire since 2017, according to the department's website.
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