MCCLURE, ILL., MAN DROWNS MONDAY AT TRAIL OF TEARS PARK'S LAKE BOUTIN

A hot, sunny afternoon at the lake Monday turned deadly when a McClure, Ill., man drowned while swimming in Boutin Lake at Trail of Tears State Park.

Lonnie Anderson, 23, of McClure was swimming outside of a marked area when he drowned in the 20-acre lake.

Anderson was underwater for at least 30 minutes before his body was recovered and taken to Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was pronounced dead at 5:13 p.m.

"He was outside of the buoy and started horseplay with his girlfriend," said John Carpenter, Cape Girardeau County Coroner. "He was not a good swimmer and went under to pull her legs but never came back up."

Annette Hormann of Cape Girardeau and her son were at the lake at the time of the drowning. Her son was playing on the sandy beach when Hormann heard a woman yell that they needed all the strong swimmers they could find.

"It was probably 15 minutes before anyone realized he was missing," said Hormann. "It took about 40 more minutes for them to find the body."

She estimated that about 25 people were in the water at the time of the accident.

The lake waters are murky, which limited underwater vision.

"People couldn't see anything under water," she said.

"Apparently, he was swimming with a bunch of his friends and his fiance when he drowned," she said.

Hormann wondered why the park didn't employ a lifeguard at the lake. She said a lifeguard might have noticed that he was swimming outside the designated area.

"A lifeguard might have also noticed that he had been under the water that long," she said.

When he was found, CPR efforts immediately began. But Hormann said, "There was really nothing anybody could do at that point."

Although the park doesn't employ a lifeguard, a public swimming area was marked off about a month ago. Until then, there was no designated swimming area in the lake, said Ron Burgett, a law enforcement ranger at the park.

Burgett was the first park official at the scene since he handles all law enforcement calls in the park. He will head the local investigation, but all information is forwarded to Jefferson City.

A 27-year-old man drowned in the lake two years ago while trying to rescue a child.