Drowning victim at popular mountain waterfall was pulled under by current, rangers say
A swimmer drowned Friday at a popular waterfall in Great Smoky Mountains National Park after a strong current pulled him under and entrapped him in debris, rangers said Saturday.
Emergency responders recovered the body of 73-year-old Stephen Musser of Roswell, Georgia, seven hours after he became submerged in water 30 feet deep at the base of Abrams Falls, according to a park news release.
About 2:15 p.m. Friday, park rangers received an alert that a swimmer failed to resurface in the 100-foot-wide pool of water.
“Rangers searched the area by ground around the falls and downstream of the falls with air support from the Army National Guard,” park officials said in the release.
Divers from the Blount County (Tennessee) Special Operations Response Team found Musser “entrapped in underwater debris” near the base of the falls about 9:30 p.m., according to the release.
Twenty-five emergency responders helped park rangers in the search.
In park history, 60 people have drowned in streams, including 10 near Abrams Falls, according to the park service.
Swimming is allowed in the park, but poses a greater risk than in lakes or pools, rangers said.
“Park streams often have strong, unexpected currents that can hold a swimmer under water, and the stream beds are littered with rocks and sunken logs that can snag or entrap a swimmer,” according to the release.
“Rangers urge swimmers and tubers to be extremely careful when recreating in park streams,” officials said.
This story was originally published August 28, 2021 at 1:41 PM.