Photo Courtesy of WSOC-TV
Crews on Lake Hickory Saturday night pulled a 45-year-old
drowning victim from Lake Hickory.

MAN DROWNS ON LAKE HICKORY
Second fatal incident involving boating in area

By Jon Mayhew

HICKORY -- The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is investigating a drowning on an area lake.

The incident started unfolding around 2:30 Saturday afternoon after a 45-year-old man went into the water after his son on Lake Hickory and didn't resurface.

Hickory firefighters were told by members of the man's family he wasn't wearing a life jacket at the time.

Around 6 p.m., firefighters were able to recover the body but have yet to release the man's name.

It's the third incident on an area lake since last Tuesday.

Around 4 p.m., 19-year-old Nate Coppick of Denver was refeuling an 80-foot houseboat "Championship II" at the dock of Westport Marina on Highway 16 when something sparked a massive explosion. The force of the explosion sent Coppick under the boat, which sank. Firefighters and rescue personnel recovered Coppick's body after placing pontoons under the sunken vessel used as a charter boat across Lake Norman.

Friends and family will gather to say goodbye to Coppick 11 a.m. Monday at Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Huntersville. The NCSU student graduated from North Lincoln High School two years ago and was persuing a degree in business.

Mike Futrell with the Lincoln County Fire Marshal's Office said a cause may be determined this week.