Sparta. An 80-year-old man drowned in Lake Mohawk on Sunday, over the Labor Day weekend.
Lawrence Botts was having trouble getting off of his boat at his dock and attempted to use an inner tube to go around the side of the dock to get onto land, according to Sparta Township Police Lieutenant John Lamon. The inner tube started to drift away from the boat into the lake, and Botts lost his grip and slipped underwater, he said.
Boaters in the area, the Sparta Police, and the Lake Mohawk Country Club lifeguard crew attempted to locate Botts, according to Lamon. Rescue and dive teams were called to assist, but were cancelled when Bott’s body was located and recovered by Lake Mohawk lifeguards and brought to shore.
The medical examiner was contacted and transported the body to their facility, said Lamon.
He said the case is being handled as an accidental drowning.