In 2020, on June 7, a Sunday, a 33-year-old man floating in a kayak on Lake Norman overturned and drowned.
The following Sunday, on the same lake, a 28-year-old man jumped from a boat and disappeared. Authorities found his body about a week later.
Later in June, a 27-year-old pontoon driver dove into the lake. He also drowned.
June is the deadliest month for swimming and recreation in North Carolina waters, according to data from the state Wildlife Resources Commission. And the waterway with the most deaths between 2012 and 2023 was Lake Norman, the huge man-made lake that separates four counties northwest of Charlotte.
‘Preserve your life’
From 2012 to 2023, 230 people died while boating or swimming in state waterways, according to a Charlotte Observer analysis of state data. More than 40 of them died in June, the first month of summer and the time when crowds begin to gather on beaches, rivers and lakes.
At least 19% of the 230 people who died had drugs or alcohol in their system at the time of death.
Most victims, like the three men who died in Lake Norman in 2020, did not use a personal flotation device, records show.
In 2017, the Wildlife Resource Commission began its “Preserve Your Life” campaign, which highlights the importance of using a personal flotation device while in the water. In an emergency, there isn’t always time to place one, the campaign states. And even the best swimmers can become disabled during an accident, he says.
About 20% of people who died on state waterways died in boating accidents or suffered some type of trauma, such as injuries after diving into shallow water, the data shows.
About half drowned. Others died from heart attacks, hypothermia or other medical conditions.
Deaths at Lake Norman
Lake Norman, the largest lake in North Carolina, is also the state’s deadliest body of water.
Twenty-eight people have died at the lake from 2012 to 2023, The Observer has found. The other lakes in Meckleburg County have had far fewer deaths.
Along the Catawba River, south of Lake Norman, is Mountain Island Lake, which has had two deaths – the result of a 2015 boating accident.
Further south along the South Carolina border, Lake Wylie has recorded five deaths, the most recent of which occurred during a boating accident in 2022, records show.
Mecklenburg County leads state in waterway deaths
Some other takeaways from the Wildlife Resources Commission data:
Deaths on North Carolina waterways have declined in recent years, from 26 in 2020 to 16 last year.
Almost 80% of victims were not using a personal flotation device.
Mecklenburg County has had the most deaths, with 17. Iredell County, north of Charlotte, and coastal Brunswick County have had 13 deaths.
NC Reality Check reflects the Charlotte Observer’s commitment to holding those in power accountable, shining a light on public issues that affect our local readers, and shining a light on the stories that set the Charlotte area and North Carolina apart. Do you have any suggestions for a future story? Email realitycheck@charlotteobserver.com
