Wartrace Park was closed to the public this past Sunday and Monday as Rescue Squad and Emergency Management personnel from nine area agencies searched for a 30 year-old man who apparently drowned Saturday afternoon, June 23.

Located just 20 miles southeast of Lafayette and a popular recreation destination for boaters, fishermen, and swimmers, the Corps of Engineers park on Cordell Hull Lake was the scene of an intensive search and recovery operation, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with Macon County and Red Boiling Rescue Squad personnel joining others in searching for the drowned man.

“We started searching for him soon after the report came in,” said Jackson County Rescue Squad Capt. Joey Denson on Sunday afternoon. “But we didn't make much progress Saturday and couldn't stay out on the water as a storm with lightning and high winds came through shortly after the emergency call.”

Jackson County Sheriff Kenneth Bean reported that the body of Michael Cox was recovered by divers at about 10 a.m. Monday, located about ten yards from the bank and the launch area toward which he had been last seen swimming.

Late on Sunday evening a trained bloodhound dog used for search and recovery purposes by the Sumner Emergency Management Agency indicated the likely area the man's body would be found. The next morning divers and Rescue Squad members working with “drag hooks” recovered the drowned man's body from that area.

Witnesses said two men, one of them Michael Cox, 30, of Gainesboro and more recently Cookeville, jumped from the bridge on Hwy. 85 at about 3:30 Saturday afternoon, intending to swim the quarter mile to the boat launch area.

Sheriff Bean said Monday that Michael Cox had been identified by his step-father and that the body would be sent off for an official autopsy.

“We're interviewing the man who dove into the water with Michael Cox at this time,” said Sheriff Bean at noon on Monday, June 25. “There won't be an official report on the incident released until after we have the results of the autopsy, which is required in situations like this.”

The Jackson County Sheriff said he would like to thank all the area emergency response and rescue squad agencies, and the American Red Cross, for their efforts in the search and recovery operation.