A late-night outing on Lake Cumberland turned into a tragedy this weekend when 66-year-old Mark Fritz went overboard and never resurfaced. First responders worked straight through the night searching the deep waters surrounding Safe Harbor Grider Hill Marina. Search teams eventually found the Nicholasville resident early Sunday morning in more than 100 feet of water.
Clinton County Dispatch first took the emergency call shortly after 11:00 p.m. on Saturday. Callers reported that a man fell directly off a dock into the lake and immediately disappeared below the surface. Emergency crews from the Albany Fire Department and Clinton County EMS rushed to the marina, but initial efforts to locate him proved unsuccessful due to the depth and darkness.
As the situation grew critical, local authorities reached out for additional assistance. The Russell County Search and Rescue dive team responded to the scene before midnight to lead a specialized water search. However, the extreme depth required specialized technology that went beyond standard diving gear.
Rescuers called in the Campbellsville-Taylor County Rescue Squad to bring in an unmanned submersible vehicle, known as an ROV. The underwater drone scanned the bottom of the lake floor where divers could not safely reach. Using sonar and video technology, the equipment pinpointed the location of the victim deep below the surface.
The ROV located Fritz’s body sitting in approximately 111 feet of water. Recovery teams brought him back to the surface around dawn on Sunday morning. Clinton County Coroner Lonnie Scott formally pronounced the victim deceased at the scene at 5:45 a.m.
Fritz had spent decades making memories and building strong ties in his home town of Nicholasville. Friends, family, and neighbors now face the sudden loss of a long-time member of their community. Local residents continue to share stories and offer support to his family as news of the tragedy spreads back home.
Coroner Scott confirmed that officials sent the body to the state medical examiner’s office for a full autopsy to determine the official cause of death. Local authorities have not released any further details regarding what caused Fritz to fall from the dock as the investigation remains open.
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