Meigs County Emergency Services said recovery efforts were deployed near the Blythe Ferry boat ramp over the weekend. The agency confirmed that two young men drowned on Friday night.
According to Tony Finnell, Director for Meigs County Emergency Services, the water was very choppy and murky with lots of debris from the storms earlier that week. He said the water had elevated heights.

He said two young men, 19 and 20-years-old, along with one of their girlfriends, went to an elevated area near the Highway 60 bridge to jump off into the water and swim.
“One of the young men had jumped off was immediately in trouble according to the eye witness,” said Finnell.  He said the other young man jumped into the water to save his friend, but was also caught in the rough waters.  “With both of them in the water in these conditions, they were unable to maneuver and both of them eventually drowned,” he explained.

Meigs and Rhea County Emergency services took to the water with Hamilton County crews to attempt to recover the men. Because of the debris and rough wind, efforts on the rescue boat were paused until Saturday morning. “Around 10:30 am Saturday, we were able to recover one of the victims by using an underwater sonar along with an underwater robot.”
Finnell says the second victim was recovered around 12:30 pm. They were able to identify the victims as the young men who had jumped off the bluff the night before.