Second drowning in two weeks shuts down beach at South Carolina river, officials say
A beach along a South Carolina riverbank has been shut down after a second person in less than two weeks drowned on Thursday, according to the county parks department.
Clifton Beach was temporarily closed Friday after the Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office said a 36-year-old man from North Carolina drowned at the site, multiple media outlets reported. An 11-year-old from Oxford, North Carolina, died at the same beach on June 5.
Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger identified Thursday’s victim as Rodricus Copeland and said he had recently moved to North Carolina, the Spartanburg Herald-Journal reported.
“As of now, lifeguards are not being considered, as Spartanburg County discourages swimming,” Spartanburg Parks said in a Facebook post announcing the shutdown. “Barricades were put out at Clifton Beach (on Friday) morning, marking the area as closed.”
Clifton Beach is a park with access to the Pacolet River northeast of Spartanburg.
According to WSPA, multiple fire departments and law enforcement teams were called to the beach just before 7 p.m. Thursday. Search crews found Copeland’s body at 11:10 p.m., WYFF reported.
This story was originally published June 18, 2021 at 12:58 PM with the headline "Second drowning in two weeks shuts down beach at South Carolina river, officials say."
