Officials believe Jesse Sgro drowned in Bladen County lake
BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The body of Jesse Sgro, the 23-year-old man who went missing at Singletary Lake State Park in Bladen County on April 6, was found over the weekend.
Park Superintendent Ed Wilkerson said all signs lead officials to believe this was a drowning.
Multiple agencies were involved with the search over the week.
Katie Hall, Public Information Officer for NC Division of Parks and Recreations Park, said friends found the Sgro’s canoe late Friday night/Saturday morning with his cell phone in the canoe. It was upright in the middle of the lake.
Officials say crews are using everything from drones, side scan sonar devices on boats to K-9 crews on the water and on the ground.
Duplin County Search and Rescue and other teams were out on the water when Jesse was found floating in the water around 12:15 p.m. Saturday.
Lead pastor Stacy Long says Jesse was just following a beloved tradition when he went missing taking the canoes out to watch the sunset.
Wilkerson said the water temperature was in the upper 50s when Sgro went into the water. The fact that it was dark when Sgro fell from the canoe may have made him disoriented, Wilkerson said.
Officials say he was found without a personal flotation device.
The body was taken to the Medical Examiner’s office in Bladenboro for an autopsy. The coroner’s report is expected by Tuesday.
Leave a Reply