Results of Autopsy Into Lake Sara Drowning Death

Effingham County Coroner Kim Rhodes has released information regarding a recent death at Lake Sara.

On October 1, at approximately 3:00 pm, two individuals who were working at a construction site at Lake Sara decided to swim across the lake to an Airbnb where they were staying. About half way across the lake, one of the swimmers went under the water and did not resurface. Emergency personnel responded, but were unable to locate the individual due to darkness and concerns over the dive team’s safety.

On October 2, at approximately 11:00 am, the individual was located by the Department of Natural Resources with the help of a “towfish” sonar device. The body was recovered from the center basin of Lake Sara which is 34 feet in depth. The individual was positively identified as Kameron Brown, age 29 of Sardis, Ohio.

The autopsy revealed that the cause of death was “drowning” due to inhalation of water into the airway and lungs. The 73-degree water caused his body to cramp and Brown to become disoriented, which then restricted the oxygen levels to his major organs. There was no trauma or medical emergency found to have caused his drowning. Toxicology revealed recent use of marijuana.