Rural Mountain Home man drowns in Lake Norfork after falling off back of boat

A rural Mountain Home man drowned in Lake Nofork late Sunday night after falling off the back of a pontoon boat as it was pulling into a boat dock. The victim is identified as 65-year-old Bryan Eugene Russell.

According to incident reports from deputies from the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office, they were called to 101 Boat Dock shortly after 9 and were joined by members of the Gamaliel 101 Fire Department.

Witnesses say Russell fell off the boat, and another man on the boat jumped in the water to try to save him. The victim’s wife told one of the deputies Russell was a strong swimmer.

The owner of 101 Boat Dock put on dive gear, but was unable to locate Russell.

A member of the sheriff’s office dive team, along with a member of the Northeast Lakeside Fire Department, recovered the victim’s body in 17-18 feet of water under the boat dock.

WebReady^TM Powered by WireReady^® NSI