According to Kershaw County Coroner David West, 911 received a call at 4:10 PM on Saturday March 8th of a Drowning at the Tailrace behind the Wateree Dam. When emergency personal arrived, it was discovered that there were actually two victims.
According to a Monday Press Conference, Sheriff Lee Boan hails 21 year old Valentin Quiroz and 43 year old Lonnie Hancock as heroes who paid the ultimate price trying to save another. Those two jumped in the water in an attempt to save a teenager who fell off a rock while fishing. Boan says the teenager was ultimately rescued by individuals in a boat nearby, but that all of the incident occurred so fast, that those in the boat reported only seeing the teenager in the water, and never saw Quiroz or Hancock who entered the water to save the teenager.